Thirteen Hours
by Nite-Lights
Summary: She knew there was a reason for all the owls, and glitter, and peaches for the last five years. She knew nothing in her life was coincidence anymore. And when the lights started to flicker and a wind picked up, her heart dropped. He was coming for her.
1. Chapter 1

**I should throw a disclaimer so this doesn't get removed.**

**I do not own The Labyrinth or any of its characters/ plot devices/ places/anything. Those belong to the late and marvelous Jim Henson.**

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><p>Thirteen Hours.<p>

I.

**A** peach. Laying on the pavement in front of her apartment. A glance down the road would show a woman scrambling to gather spilled produce and angrily throwing away a torn paper bag. But it had to be a peach that rolled in front of her steps, of course. Especially today, of all days, the five year anniversary of Sarah's triumphant defeat of The Goblin King and his Labyrinth. She nudged the fruit with her foot and took a deep breath.

_Just a coincidence_ she told herself. _Don't get yourself worked up over nothing._

She knew she would be on edge today. Just as it was in the years prior, Sarah had always been able to find a startling amount of coincidences on this day. A year after she had beaten The Goblin King at his own game, she had spotted an alarming amount of owls everywhere she went. As it turned out, a storm had caused the creatures to take shelter in her heavily wooded town for the day. Year two was the year she swore she heard his voice in everything, calling her name. The following year was when the nightmares began, and have yet to cease. They are not a constant thing, but they occur often enough to leave Sarah on edge for days. Horrifically vivid, and usually brutal in every sense of the word, Sarah would often wake herself up in the middle of the night with her own screams. The fourth year, she saw shadows. Small and lithe, they crept everywhere but her direct line of vision. Always in her peripheral, Sarah was convinced goblins were stalking her the entire day. This year, it seemed, the theme would be peaches.

Sarah adjusted her bag on her shoulder and began her trek to work. She worked at the library in town in the children's section. Her day was spent reading various stories to a gaggle of five year olds and amusing them with small arts and crafts while their parents made use of the library's free internet. Trying to focus on things other than peaches, Sarah commented silently about the weather, how the trees were starting to switch from green to their Autumn hues, the disgusting amount of gum on the sidewalk, anything to keep her mind off the Underground while she made her way across town.

Drawing nearer to the library, she saw one of her usual story hour kids waiting on the entrance steps, a stack of books to her side tottering precariously. Sarah approached, watching as the girl straightened the stack and stood up, plucking a small red book from the top of the pile.

"You're early, Beth. Library doesn't open for an hour." She said, folding her arms over her chest.

The girl nodded and moved to straighten her pile of books again.

"I know. But I have to go to my Aunt's today and wanted to bring you these." she said, waving her hand in front of the stack of books. Sarah eyed the stack once more, only to show she acknowledged them, and nodded.

"What are they for? Are you returning them?" She asked, picking up the topmost book and flipping through its pages. The girl drew her mouth in to a thin line. She sighed loudly and hung her arms at her side.

"Yes. But I didn't actually check them out. My mom told me I had to bring them back. And she told me to give you this." the girl said, offering the red book to Sarah.

"Its my favorite ever. So please be careful with it." She said, handing the book to Sarah begrudgingly.

The book had no title on the cover, but it didn't matter. Sarah would know the book anywhere. She opened the page and was not surprised when a small amount of glitter scattered in the breeze. The translucent first page heralded the title page, familiar elegant script read _Labyrinth._

As she remembered, there was no author, nor publishing date, or reference numbers. The gold leaf that trimmed each page was beginning to flake, and the spine was bent with the age of any well read adventure. Sarah could not help but smile.

"You know something?" Sarah said, watching as Beth nudged the book tower with her foot to steady it once more.

"This is my favorite too. I'm not angry, I'm glad you returned them. Thank you. And I promise to take the best care of your book. Maybe we'll even read it at Story hour?" Sarah offered, watching the girls face light up.

"You've read it too? I found it in a trash can. I remember it was in the same one I tried to put my baby brother in. Mom wasn't happy about it, and grounded me for EVER. But I took the book when she wasn't looking and read it every day." The girl babbled, not taking one moment to even wonder if Sarah found placing ones baby brother in the trash can a bit unusual.

"I bet you can't guess my favorite character." she challenged, rocking back and forth on her heels. Sarah grinned and played along. It was rare to see a child so enthusiastic about reading anymore.

"Oh I'm terrible at guessing. Why don't you tell me." she said, picking up the books from the ground and motioning to follow her into the library.

"It's the Goblin King." she declared.

_Of course it is!_ Sarah thought._ Who else would it be, really. _

"The Goblin King? But he's the bad guy, Bethie. Nobody is supposed to like him." Sarah argued.

"Yeah I know he's supposed to be a jerk, but my mom is a jerk when she has a bad day at work too. Maybe he wouldn't have been so mean if the girl didn't treat him like she did. He was only doing his job, after all." Beth said, holding the door open as Sarah walked past her and set the books on the floor in front of her desk. She shook her head. Sarah could not see how it was possible that a child could understand this book better than she could. And she read it cover to cover at least 100 times. She was right though. He was just doing his job, and she treated him less than fairly; making snap judgments and refusing to play by the rules. Only, by the time she realized it, she was far too late to apologize.

_This had to happen today. Yes, it did. Why not. Peaches weren't nearly enough to make me miserable._ Sarah sat down and watched as Beth ran her finger across the depressed letters on a books cover.

"Beth? Don't you have to get going?" she asked, watching a frown creep onto her face.

"Yeah." she sighed, kicking the ground. "I don't like my Aunt's house. It smells like cat litter and she always makes me eat vegetables. But my dad has to go on a business trip and my moms working a double. Whatever that is. So I'll be stuck all day with my stupid brother and my smelly Aunt with nothing to do but make the plastic on the couches squeak" she rambled. Sarah couldn't help but laugh. The child reminded her so much of herself when she was younger.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find something to keep occupied." Sarah assured, pressing the power button on her computers tower. She listened as the familiar whirr of the motors kicked in and wondered at why Beth was staring at the red book so intently.

"That girl had the right idea. About getting rid of her baby brother. All mine does is cry and poop! I can't even play games with him because he's stupid and only knows how to say 'mama' and 'blankie'" Beth groaned, turning to leave.

"Bye Miss Sarah! Thanks for not yelling at me I guess." she waved as she pushed the front door open with some effort. Turning around, she leaned against the door and smiled.

"You know what I wish? That The Goblin King would come and take MY bro-"

"DON'T!" Sarah interrupted, jolting from her seat.

"Don't say that, Beth. You would miss your baby brother. You may think you hate him, but what if he really was gone? Your mom and dad would be sad, and you too. Don't wish that. Okay?" Sarah said, waiting for her heart to stop racing. She could not imagine an eight year old girl trying to run the Labyrinth. The thought made her queasy. Beth had turned a pale shade and nodded.

"See you later" she whispered, running from the library as fast as her feet could carry.

Sarah sunk back into her seat, her hand falling on the now open book in front of her. She looked down and read the first line. And the next, and soon the first page. When she had thrown the book out five years ago, she never expected to read it again. She had hoped to erase all her memories of The Underground and especially of him. But here she was, dreading the moment when the heroine calls out to her momentary savior;

_"I wish The Goblin King would take you away right now!"_ She was drawn into the book once more, reading with bated breath as the heroine ran the twisting mazes and solved impossible puzzles. How she fought her way to the castle in the center of the Goblin City. How she fought for her brother, and how she fought against the Goblin King. When the lights above her flickered on and the telltale sound of the central air turning on filled her ears, she was finally torn away from the book. She could not remember where she had stopped reading what was written and where she had replaced that story with her own. Looking up from the book, she felt herself grin at the tall blond who walked up to her desk.

"Why am I not surprised to find you reading in dim lighting, alone in a very large and very quiet library?" he asked, leaning in to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Morning." she breathed, standing up to turn the other set of lights on behind her.

The man, who's name was Jared, was somewhere between a friend and a boyfriend. Sarah had not yet decided what she wanted him to be, and he was strangely alright with it. He never overstepped any boundaries, and never pushed for a more committed relationship. He was always there when Sarah needed someone and never expected anything in return. He was exactly the opposite of what she knew she wanted, and only found that out after she started seeing him on the sole basis that he had blond hair and blue eyes.

It was a petty reason to date someone, she knew, but when she had first met Jared, she had just come to terms that the last thing she felt for The Goblin King was hatred. She was upset with herself for a while, but the more she got to know Jared, the more she realized she really did like him. And liking him turned into seeing him every day, and going out on dates with him, and eventually, finding comfort in his arms after one of her nightmares woke her up. She liked him well enough, in the end. Even if it was only as a temporary fix.

Turning around, Sarah found Jared sitting in her chair, spinning around lazily, his feet dragging on the ground. He came to a stop in front of her and held out his hand.

"Breakfast?" he asked, his fingers curled softly around a peach.

Sarah sighed and shook her head.

"You know I hate peaches." she said, reaching into her bag and retrieving the bagel she had packed to have with her morning coffee. Jared nodded.

"Right. Sorry. I can't understand why you hate them though." he said, biting into the soft fruit, a small line of juice spilling onto his chin.

"Eh, messy…" she said, finding a quick way out of that conversation. She wasn't quite sure how to tell someone that the last time she ate a peach, she went on a trip more severe than even the strongest of drugs and may or may not have developed feelings for a Fae king. Somehow, it just didn't seem to translate well into real life.

**H**oping the events at the library that morning were the last of the reminders she would get of The Underground that day, she went about the rest of her day with an orderly conduct, getting all her work done early and heading over to the community theater across town. When she wasn't reading to children or ordering books for the library's stocks, Sarah spent her free time there, sewing costumes for whatever production they happened to be putting on that season, and devising ways to get the current director usurped so that she may have the job one day.

Upon entering, she found several boxes strewn about the stage, and the director, a woman by the name of Adelaide, who dressed like she lived in the 50's and collected red lipstick, fumbled through costumes, muttering something about codpieces. She looked up, a relieved smile playing across her face and made no delay in firing a string of questions at Sarah.

The fall play was Shakespeare's _A Midsummer Nights Dream_, which Sarah surprisingly approved of. She had always been a fan of Shakespeare, favoring _Midsummer_ most of all. Before she had the chance to get too excited about the upcoming project though, her thought process came to a halt when she heard Adelaide use the words "I Wish…" and her brain fuzzed. A sense of panic settled in her stomach and when the lights started to flicker and Sarah found herself suddenly alone in the auditorium, her worst fears had been confirmed. She knew that five years of coincidence could not be just that. She knew there was a reason for all the owls, and glitter, and peaches for the last five years. She knew it wasn't random that she met a blond haired blue eyed man named Jared, whom she proceed to have relations with. When the lights flickered and a wind picked up out of the blue, her heart dropped.

He was coming for her.

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><p><em><strong>Aaaah. This is my first fic in QUITE some time. Reviews and feedback are always accepted. I'll hopefully have this updated sooner rather than later :)<strong>_

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><p><em><strong>6-9-11. Fixed some ungodly grammatical errors. Should read a tad bit easier now.<strong>_


	2. Chapter 2

II.

**H**e was coming for her. Sarah felt her lungs tighten, her breath grow shorter. It seemed like ages before she could force her feet to follow where the rest of her body so wanted to run. In a blink, her palms hit the auditorium door and she stumbled out into the deceptive sunlight. A blue sky hung above her, the trees rustled in a calm breeze, but the air was static. It was as though an invisible storm was coming and every bit of her stood on edge. Her feet slapped against the pavement as she took off as fast as possible, away from the theater. Away from him.

She knew running was pointless. She could run to the farthest reaches of the world and he would find her. Yet instead of running farther than she could imagine, she ran to her apartment. It was where she most felt safe, secure. Right now it provided sanctuary until he caught up. It was that moment Sarah was dreading most. She had spent an immeasurable amount of time after her return home longing to go back. She dreamed every night of somehow finding herself in The Underground again, accompanying her friends on adventures, or running the Labyrinth a second time, just for fun. She dreamed of finally visiting the Worms house and his wife, of arguing with Jareth. Of sitting with him on the hill that overlooked his entire kingdom, and eventually of more intimate things that usually involved a large bed and a dim room.

Her cheeks turned red at the thought, quickly dismissing them and any other thought she had about her time there, and what would have happened if she had opted to stay. It seemed hardly fair that only after she came to terms with the fact that The Underground was an adventure in her past and that she could never return that he should come for her. She had accepted her life here and moved ahead. She had friends now, a boyfriend of sorts no less. People who cared about her and who she cared for deeply. She loved her job and where she lived, she loved the small nook she had in her apartment where she liked to read at night, and the way her kitchen faucet never seemed to stop dripping. Sarah realized as she turned the corner to her street that she was saying goodbye.

_It's pointless to pretend that this will just blow over_ she thought as her feet carried her up the steps to her front door.

_Jareth will get his way. He'll have every intention to after how much he lost the last time we met. _

Sarah slammed her back to the door as it closed behind her. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she slid to the floor, letting her head fall into her hands in defeat.

"I don't want to say goodbye…" she sighed, running her fingers through her windblown hair. She sat a few minutes more, allowing her legs to regain some strength before attempting to stand up.

It was dark, natural light from the bay window in the back room providing limited lighting. A perfect setting for a reunion, she thought. It was quiet, aside from the ticking coming from her kitchen clock, and a smaller hum coming from her bedroom where she had left her window fan running. He hadn't arrived yet. Sarah's head pounded in time with her pulse, providing pain enough to prompt her to make a path to the bathroom, where she helped herself to a couple of painkillers. Turning around, she allowed herself what she presumed to be one last look around her apartment. Her fingers ran down the textured wallpaper as she walked through the dining room, past the utility closet, and into her bedroom.

Dark blue curtains provided most of the color in her room. She had not been allowed to repaint any of the walls, or remove its paper. Her bed sat against the farthest wall, inside an alcove where a small circular window looked out over the street below. On it sat only a small number of the stuffed toys she used to have, the rest having been boxed up and placed in her parents attic when she left home. To her right sat her desk, where she spent many a late night with work she elected to take home, and above it, a small bookshelf that stood as a home for every first edition Sarah acquired throughout the years. Before she allowed herself any tears, she turned away and shut the door.

In the living room it was brighter. The bay window allowed a decent amount of light in, even at night, which meant that most of the time Sarah could keep the overhead light off and rely on a smaller standing light in the corner, right next to her reading nook. Her chair though, which was most often empty, now sat occupied.

"Why am I not surprised to find you reading in dim lighting, alone in a very large and very quiet apartment?" Sarah asked, hinting at irony as the figure sitting in the chair grinned. Looking at him in this light allowed her to see how much her sort-of-boyfriend looked like her Goblin King. They both possessed the fair hair and eyes that were known to be a normality among Fae. Both had a thin face, strong jaw, and high cheekbones, and a grin that could be construed as either playful or menacing in any situation. She walked to the center of the room to meet with Jared, who had since stood up and lost all of his normally playful appearance.

"What's going on, Jared? Why are you here?" She asked, skipping over the more selfish questions.

"Why am I in your apartment? No. Why am I here, with you. The truth?" he asked, watching as Sarah folded her arms across her chest and set most of her weight to one side, a trait he had found adorable for the longest time. He sighed and ran a hand along the back of his neck.

"To watch you. At least, that was my assignment. I kind of strayed from that mission a bit, didn't I?" He said, hoping to work a smile out of her. Sarah stood stoic, though. Waiting for more of an explanation.

"Who sent you?" She asked. A silly question, in the end.

"Who do you think." he said, a small laugh catching in his response. Sarah nodded, her eyes falling to the floor.

"Why? Why didn't he just…" her question trailed off. She knew that answer as well.

"Sarah…My Sarah… There is so much you don't know." he said, walking over to her and taking her small hands in his.

"Your time with him in his Labyrinth, that was his job. At least, it started that way." he said, placing a hand on her cheek.

"I can certainly see why that situation changed though…" Jared ran his thumb across her cheekbone slowly, staring at her as though he were searching for something. After a moment, he inhaled sharply and spoke again.

"You must know that as a King, he has duties he must attend to. An entire Kingdom to keep under a firm rule. When he lost to you, when he lost you, he neglected those duties. The King spent every waking second, and likely every second he slept, thinking of ways to get you back. His every thought was of you and of winning you. His Kingdom began to fall, the society turned to chaos. The High Council had to step in and they deemed him unfit to rule even the smallest of Kingdoms. When that happened, The King realized he could not lose what had become the second most important thing to him, and in the end, he and the High Council compromised. They sent me here to watch you, and report back when convenient. I've obviously strayed from those duties." He said, watching Sarah's expression turn to one of disgust.

"I hated lying to you, Sarah…I hated sharing you. And now, we'll both pay for it." Jared dropped his hands to his sides and sighed, a defeated look on his face.

"He's coming for you." he whispered, backing away and sinking into the chair behind him. He dropped his head to his hands.

Sarah stood still, trying to work out everything she had just heard. Her head spun and her legs turned to jelly. She sunk to the floor, losing whatever strength that had kept her standing.

"You lied." she choked out.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, her voice hitching.

"It would have been better than letting me think I had actually escaped The Underground! For five years I thought I was free from it. I should have known better. After all this time…"

She trailed off, losing whatever anger that had sparked within her.

"I suppose you're to blame for the things I see every year. I'm not crazy…just still playing his stupid games. It's not fair…I thought…I'm not allowed to forget it, am I?" she asked. It was quiet. The normal sounds of the outdoors had ceased. He was getting closer.

Jared shook his head, his even breathing the only sound filling the room.

"People who run the labyrinth, whether or not they win, when they leave, they forget. Their time there, what they saw, who they met, what they lost…Their entire existence is altered. The King didn't want to lose you at all. He allowed you to keep your memories, a risky and very illegal move on his part. He knew you would rather have a thousand bad memories than one false one." Jared explained.

"He let me keep them. As if they were his to give away. Well I don't…I don't want them! He's horrible! I told him…I told him he had…that he hasn't got any…any…" she stuttered. Her head swam and her words failed her. Sarah's thoughts grew fuzzy and speech became more difficult. Jared stood up and turned his attention to something behind her. His eyes grew wide. Sarah stood and turned, her eyes falling on a familiar black cape, a shock of blond hair.

He stood before her just as he did five years ago; Strong, Confident, the hint of a smile moving across his lips. Sarah's head pounded, her hands grew clammy, shapes lost their definition. In the darkness, he looked different, as though something was not quite right about him. But five years can change a man. Small lights began to flash across her line of vision and her heart raced. His smile grew cruel. Something was different, but Sarah could not place just what. From behind her, she could hear Jared's heavy breathing grow panicked. As he began to say something, a loud pop filled the air and it grew quiet. Wherever he had gone, Jared was no longer behind her.

Everything spun, grew dark, burnt out. The Goblin King stepped forward and caught Sarah just as she lost consciousness. Once more, a loud pop filled the air, and the room was empty.


	3. Chapter 3

III.

**S**arah jostled awake, her head making sharp contact with a rock ledge above her. Immediately flying to her head, her hands massaged the sore spot while she surveyed her surroundings. A small ray of light snuck in through a crack in the roof, illuminating the small cavern that seemed to be filled with miscellaneous objects in varying states of decay.

_An oubliette. How nostalgic._ Sarah thought, crawling just far enough to avoid the rock ledge before standing up and dusting herself off. Looking around, she could just make out the piles of junk scattered across the room, some small, some reaching the ceiling. Sarah felt small as she stared up at the towering masses, her eyes jumping from place to place as objects caught the light depending on what angle she viewed them. At the sound of a shuffle, Sarah jumped, her back becoming stiff, her ears tuning in to the silence.

"Sarah?" She spun around. The lack of light hardly made it possible to see much of anything at a distance. A huddled shape in the corner moved, stood up and began to make its way to her.

"Jared." She sighed as the tall blond stepped into the light.

"Why are you here?" she asked, picking a bit of garbage off of his shoulder. Jared shrugged and rubbed at his eye.

"Been here for days. I was beginning to wonder what had happened to you after he sent me away. Then all of the sudden, you just popped in, hit your head on that ledge. I've been watching over you since. Glad to see you're awake though. You know you snore?" He said, a smirk winding its way across his lips.

Sarah wrapped her head around what he had just said.

_A few days? But I was just in my apartment…_

"A…a few days? Jared, what happened?" she asked, running her fingers across the large bump forming where she cracked her head earlier. He shrugged again, seeming to look anywhere but at Sarah.

"Dimensional travel varies depending on who's doing it." He explained succinctly.

"My guess is he sent you here when he went back to his cozy castle…not sure why. Thought he was coming to get you." He mumbled, picking at something under his fingernail. Sarah's eyes narrowed, her lips drew into a fine line.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked, taking a step towards him as he took one back. Shadow fell across his face as he removed himself from the beam of light.

"Quite the contrary. I assumed from the way you behaved earlier that you are the one angry at me." he said, a hint of sadness in his tone. Sarah furrowed her eyebrows, trying to recall everything that happened.

"I wasn't…I wasn't angry with you, Jared…"she started, being interrupted by a scoff.

"I wasn't! But you have to understand, I spend a little over a year all but attached to you thinking you're one person, and in a minute I find out you have been lying to me since the beginning! And with everything else that was happening, you have to understand I was a bit shocked. I'm sorry if I snapped at you. I was scared." She explained, hoping he would find reason. Jared looked up at her, his light blue eyes the only part of his face that was visible.

"It would seem then, that we are both at fault for having false motives." He spoke quietly, his voice amplified by the caverns natural acoustics.

"What do you mean by that?" Sarah asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You know very well that you didn't take notice of me because you were genuinely interested. I'm no idiot. It was convenient though, at the beginning, when I just wanted to get my job done. I was stupid for letting it become more." Sarah felt her cheeks redden, heat rising in her face.

_There's no point in getting angry. He's right._ She told herself, forcing her anger down.

Realizing she was holding her breath, Sarah let out a long sigh.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done to you what I did. It wasn't fair to either of us. I do care about you though, a lot. You know that, right?" Sarah asked, taking another step toward him as he took another back. He scanned her face, looking for any hint of a lie, and found none.

Nodding, he sighed and stepped forward, taking her hands in his.

"I know. I'm sorry. Maybe with all this new information, we should just start over?" He said, a small laugh in his voice.

Sarah smiled and backed up, extending her hand in a formal manner.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Sarah Williams. I work at the Library in town where I live and I enjoy acting, long walks, and sleeping in late." she declared, waiting for him to take her hand. Jared nodded and took her hand, kissing it in a noble fashion.

"Sarah. Good to meet you. My name is Kallen. So, I'm sorry I lied about that as well. Being undercover requires a name change. Before I became entrusted by the High Council to assist the Goblin King, I was charged with guarding the Castle Gates at Tir Na Nog. I am 897 years old, and I enjoy traveling, which it seems, I will get to do a lot of soon, and Chinese food, which I will undeniably miss now that I am Underground again." he said, bowing low to the ground before standing upright again.

"Why didn't you just tell me your real name? I don't think it would have made a difference." She said, staring at the spot on her hand where he had just kissed.

"I was under order not to tell you, since it was assumed that once Jareth had you back, it wouldn't matter what my name was. So he told me to take up a human name that was similar to his. He has a bit of an ego, if you hadn't noticed." Kallan smiled, letting her hand go and taking a seat on the ground. Sarah nodded in acknowledgment and grinned.

"He does that…" she muttered, looking up at the crack in the roof.

"Jared…er- Kallan. How long have we been in here?" She asked, circling the room a few times before returning to the center. He looked up and her, a puzzled look on his face.

"You know, I'm not sure. I stopped counting. But its been three days since you wound up here. So it must be about a week for me. Funny thing about oubliettes; you lose track of the time after a while." he said, tracing patterns in the dirt surrounding him.

"Did you even consider trying to find a way out?" she asked, squinting into the darkness for any hint of a door.

"Sarah, its an oubliette. I was under the impression that it had no doors, thus, no way out."

Sarah smiled and shook her head.

"Shows what you know, smarty pants. You're just lucky this isn't my first time in an oubliette. I never thought I'd wind up in one again." she said sadly.

"Now there's something. If Jareth was coming for you, it wasn't to make you run the Labyrinth again, was it? I thought you two were…" he trailed off, watching an expression of pain settle onto Sarah's face.

"We weren't anything. At least…I didn't think we were. Turns out I was wrong. Five years of a guy showing up in your dreams does things to you, you know?" she explained, fishing in her pockets for some sort of hair tie.

"Then why did he leave you here? It certainly wasn't because the better man won." Kallan said, hoping to lighten the mood a little bit. Sarah grinned as she pulled a brown hair tie from her back pocket and proceeded to thread her hair through it.

"I'm not sure. But I'm going to find out."

**A**fter a good half hour of stumbling around in the dim cavern, Sarah found a lantern and with Kallan's help, managed to light it. The room was smaller than she had originally thought it was, and aside from the small ledge which held up an array of children's toys, the vaulted roof was extraordinarily high.

_So climbing won't be an option then_. She thought, picking her way through the scattered odds and ends.

"Hoggle found a door on the ground." Sarah said loudly, but mostly to herself. Kallan looked up from a small wooden box with a puzzled expression.

"Sarah? Who's Hoggle?" He asked, tossing the box to the side carelessly and moving forward.

"Hm? Oh. He's my…well, he was my friend. I met him at the start of the Labyrinth. He was…well that's not important. He helped me a lot. I wonder how he's doing…" she mused, losing her train of thought.

"Anyway. The last time I found myself in an oubliette, Hoggle had found a door lying on the ground. He just picked it up and put it against the wall, and all the sudden, there was a way out." She explained, her eyes searching the floor for anything resembling a door. Kallan joined her in her search, picking up anything that could be a doorknob.

Time passed slowly, with the two having no luck in finding a door. Just as the silence was getting a bit too long, Kallan spoke up.

"Sarah…Its not a door, but would a ladder do?" He asked, picking up an enormous ladder from the ground and placing it against the cavern wall. Its length spanned farther than the lantern-light would allow them to see, and Sarah figured it would be worth a shot. She knew little of how magic worked, but at this point, she was willing to try anything. Gripping the lantern in one hand, she began to ascend the ladder slowly, watching for broken or missing rungs, and making sure to point them out as Kallan followed behind her.

As she climbed higher and higher up, she noticed a change in the walls. They grew damp, slick in some spots, and eventually she found that she could see without the use of the lantern.

"I think you were right!" she called down, hearing Kallan grunt in reply.

"Its getting lighter, so we must be close to the top." she said, extinguishing the lanterns small flame. It had certainly grown lighter, the walls now an earthy green color where moss clung to them strongly. A few more minutes up the ladder and Sarah found herself pushing on a large stone plate above her.

**L**ight flooded the dark tunnel below her, allowing her the chance to see just how far she had climbed. About fifty feet below her, she could just make out the outline of the ledge where she had hit her head. Gripping the sides of the opening as best she could, Sarah hoisted herself up and over, dropping down onto hard ground. Moments later, Kallan followed, letting out a small _oomph_ as he hit the ground.

Sarah took her time standing up. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the oubliette hours ago, which meant that the amount of light she was exposed to now left her squinting and seeing spots. As her vision cleared, she pushed herself up off of the ground and examined her surroundings. The hole they had just climbed out of was in fact, a well. Aged and covered in vines and assorted weeds, it looked like it hadn't been tended to in years. A gray sky sent warning of a storm, darker clouds on the horizon confirmed it. A gentle breeze sailed across the pair, carrying a cornucopia of scents. At first, it brought the smell of rain, fresh and cleansing. The moment it passed though, the present aromas set in. Decay, rot, a stagnant air present in places that had not been visited in ages.

Had time stopped five years ago, Sarah would have met the strange old man wearing a bird in this very spot. Moss, ivy, and thick weeds had long since grown over the massive stone chair where Sarah had encountered the odd individual first. Tearing her eyes away from the ruins, she could clearly see that the rest of the area was in an equal state of disarray.

The long brick pathways meant to confuse all who traveled them were cracked, acting as homes for several different varieties of plant life. The marble pillars that once heralded every high passageway had long since fallen over, creating a challenging obstacle for any who wished to move ahead. The many hedges which formed a better part of the Labyrinth were overgrown, their spindly branches reaching well up to the clouds in some areas. Picking her way ahead only a few sections, Sarah's heart sunk when she found that the Doorknockers had been broken into, each pathway blocked by rubble.

"What happened to this place? It's like-"

"-Jareth stopped caring." Kallan finished. He looked down on Sarah, his somber visage reflecting her own.

"I cant pretend I know all the details of what happened, Sarah. But I know that when you left, that's when everything changed." Kallan said, his blue eyes falling on a small patch of colorful weeds.

"For a while, Jareth made this place a hell. He vowed to never let any Runner win his game. New walls went up, new challenges. Rules were changed, it was a whole different game. A lot of runners went home losing everything. Almost a year passed before he realized that playing with people like pawns on a chessboard was something he couldn't do forever. Not with a clean conscious at least. At once, he set things back to the way they were, restored the hours on the clock, and became a neutral participant. He hired Minders to keep watch over the children he took, making sure they were in a safe environment and were well at hand, while he observed every Runner, down every corridor and every path, until they met him at his castle. Once they got there, had they not given up prior, he would return them the child they fought for, and sent them home. I think he was hoping that should you ever come back, you would be impressed at how he had changed. But you never returned." Kallan sighed, watching as Sarah ran her hand around the splintered door frame.

"It was then he had started watching you, and when things started to get a little weird on your end, I presume. Not long after he began keeping tabs on you, Jareth had begun to neglect his Kingdom. A few months later, I was sent to watch you while Jareth devised a way to return you to him, and now here we are. Its quite sad really…almost tragic. He does care, in his own strange way. His present behavior is a bit unusual however." He concluded, joining Sarah at the fallen entryway.

Sarah shook her head as she began picking through the debris.

"Something isn't right here, Kallan." she whispered, her fingers wrapping around one of the Doorknockers brass handles.

"Something is wrong."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Just want to give a quick thank you for all the positive feedback. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to have the next up sometime next week. In the meantime, reviews and critiques are always welcome 3<em>**


	4. Chapter 4

IV.

**M**iles away, a storm had begun. On the horizon, dark clouds released sheets of rain upon an illuminated city. Above Sarah, the sky was a burnt orange color, wisps of gray mixing their way into the otherwise clear sky. In a few hours, Sarah and Kallan would have to take shelter from the rain. In the meantime, they pressed on, relying on Sarah's recollections of her first run through the Labyrinth to guide them.

Without Jareth's magic weaved throughout, the Labyrinth was much less of a challenge. Walls ceased to close behind them, and tiles remained in their place. There were no riddle doors, or seemingly bottomless chasms to fall into. It was empty, quiet, lifeless. Soon enough, the two were at the entrance to the forest Sarah had been dreading to enter again. Her heart pounded as the pair took their first steps into the trees, stepping around overgrown vines and hedges.

Sensing something was wrong, Kallan stopped after a few minutes and turned. He watched as a few paces back, Sarah's eyes darted from spot to spot, trying either to focus on too many things, or avoid one. She wrung her hands nervously and seemed to be mumbling to herself occasionally.

"Sarah?" Kallan called, watching as her attention flicked to him, as she jammed her hands into her pockets and shuffled forward.

"Something the matter?" He suggested as she caught up to him. Sarah shook her head, despite her obvious display of distress.

"No. I just…there are a lot of memories here. I wasn't quite prepared to re-live them." She mumbled, removing her hands from her pockets and crossing them over her chest. She normally took up this position when she was ill tempered or stressed. Kallan used to comment on it, how she looked childish when she did so, but he held back, knowing well enough that these woods made Sarah nervous; jumpy.

Only a few miles away now, thunder began to rumble consistently, taking small breaks for flashes of lightning to bolt across the sky. The storm was fast approaching, giving Sarah an excuse to move faster. Minutes passed as the two drove deeper into the trees, making it past the more overgrown parts slower than Sarah had wanted. The moment the brambles ceased, and their feet touched a stretch of ground free from any deterrents, they broke into a brisk run as the storm took its final steps to them.

Gliding through the mostly clear terrain, Sarah and Kallan sped through the forest, the storm now directly above. Sarah could hear the rain rapidly beating against the thick canopy of limbs and branches that kept them dry for the time. She almost dreaded walking out of the forest more than staying in it, knowing well that the moment they did, she would be drenched.

Sooner than anticipated, the heavy drops of rain wound their way through the treetops, forcing the two to cease their race and seek out shelter in the form of a very large and very old tree. Sarah bent over in exhaustion, waiting for her lungs to stop burning. She could hear Kallan beside her, breathing heavily, but with no extreme effort like she did. In another moment, he was fine, and sliding his back down the trees smooth trunk, taking a seat on a protruding root. He looked up at her and gestured for Sarah to take a seat beside him. Obliging, she sat, leaning against the tree trunk, her eyes closed. Feeling as though she was being watched, Sarah opened one eye to find Kallan staring at her intently.

"Can I help you?" She asked, removing a strand of hair that was stuck to her cheek.

"I'm just wondering why you're so on edge is all. As soon as we stepped into these woods, you put up this huge wall it seemed." He said, his icy blue eyes holding hers. After a moment, Sarah sighed.

"It's a long story, Jared."

"Kallan..."

"Right. Sorry, Kallan. It's a long story." She repeated, hoping he would drop the subject.

"We're going to be stuck here for quite some time, I think. This storm doesn't seem to be slowing down. Plenty of time for a story, eh?" Kallan suggested, finding a more comfortable position at the base of the tree before staring at her again. Angry that he would not let the matter go, she acquiesced.

_Its like he's a little kid. 'Tell us a story, Miss Sarah!' _she thought, moving to face him.

"Fine. Its stupid, really. The forest didn't do anything to me. Its what was done to me here. I don't know…" she began, trying to find a better way to start the story.

"We were headed for the castle. I was running out of time and I had to find Toby…" she began.

"Everyone was hungry, but there were no berries or anything. So we pressed on, hoping to get through this forest quickly, because maybe there was something on the other side. Hoggle stopped me though, he surprised me, usually he was grumpy, but at the time, he was being uncharacteristically nice. So I should have known something was wrong, I guess. He pulled a peach out from his coat pocket. At the time, I didn't even bother to ask him why he had a peach. From what little I knew of the Dwarf, I knew he liked to keep random things on him at all time, so it made sense. He offered me the peach and pretty much ran away, muttering something about Jareth. I didn't realize he did until after the fact." She paused, no longer looking directly at one thing, just staring, lost in memory.

"I was so hungry…" she mumbled, images long ago lost flooding her memory like water spilling through a dam.

"Something was wrong with the peach. Hoggle had received it from Jareth. He put some sort of spell on it, to try and make me forget Toby. I fell asleep. And I dreamt…it was the most fantastic…horrifying dream I've ever had. At least I thought it was for a minute." She sighed.

Kallan interrupted her thought process; "It wasn't a dream, was it? It was real?" he asked, a tone of concern in his voice. Sarah nodded, tears springing to her eyes. She wiped them away quickly and cleared her throat.

"Yeah. He trapped me. It was a ball; a masquerade. Everyone had grotesque faces and elegant gowns. The whole world spun. Everywhere I looked, there he was. But as soon as I thought I had caught him, he was gone. I started to panic." She recalled, wringing her hands together.

"Then, out of nowhere, he was there in front of me, and we danced. And he sang to me. I would have stayed, everything was perfect and I was losing myself in this world he had created for me. But something in my head was screaming at me. I couldn't stay there. As much as I wanted to, I knew I needed to find Toby. I broke whatever trance I was in and ran. I couldn't find a way out, there were just mirrors wherever I turned. I remember, I picked up a chair, and I threw it, hoping to break the mirror, cause a diversion, find an exit. But breaking the mirror was an exit. When I woke up, I was in a pile of trash, closer to the Goblin City than I was before. This creature…she escorted me to a door. Behind it was my room. I thought I had gone home. Everything was there and it was perfect. I thought it was all a dream. But when I went to check on Toby, the creature was at the door yelling at me to stay inside. She tried everything to get me to stay…"Sarah trailed off, trying to find where to go next.

"You really care about your brother, don't you?" Kallan asked. "You never talk about him though" he said. Sarah shook her head, breaking from her thoughts. She nodded, smiling a bit.

"Toby's seven now. He doesn't remember anything." she said, turning her attention upwards. The rain had stopped. Sarah wondered when the storm had passed, but she could hear it now far ahead of them.

"Looks like the storm cleared though. We should get a move on." she concluded, standing up and brushing the dirt off of the back of her jeans.

"But what happened after you woke up?" Kallan asked, standing with her. Sarah shrugged.

"Nothing. I found Toby, we left. End of story." She said abruptly. Kallan frowned, unconvinced that it was the end of the story. Sarah moved ahead, stepping over the roots and finding the main path again. She marched forward, making a point to get out of the woods and as far away from them as possible.

* * *

><p><strong>R<strong>unning to catch up with her, Kallan came to a halt when he set eyes on their next obstacle. The outer wall to the Goblin City lay ahead, its massive doors unhinged and wide open. Before it though lay mountains of rubbish. Some small, some towering, he watched as among them, small creatures scurried about, digging through the heaps and returning a moment later, their arms laden with assorted bits of junk. They repeated this until their new treasures overpowered them, at which point, the creatures shifted their things to their back, and hobbled off to burrows inside the taller of the trash piles. With a disgusted look on his face, Kallan took up stride beside Sarah, noticing that the closer they drew to the landfill, the worse the stench that hung in the air became. Sarah, who was un-phased simply took care to step over the trash and pressed onward.

"How are you alright with this?" Kallan exclaimed, covering his nose with his arm. Sarah looked back and smiled.

"Wimping out on me, Kallan? If you think this is bad, you wouldn't last a second in the Bog of Eternal Stench." Sarah jibed, finding Kallan's delicate nature almost hilarious.

"Bog of Eternal Stench? I don't even think…is that even a real place?" He asked, hoping she was making it up. Sarah nodded, a small giggle escaping.

"The worst smelling place I have ever been. The smallest drop gets on you, and you smell the rest of your life" she explained, finding comfort in the fact that she could still make jokes with him.

Kallan frowned, removing his arm from in front of his face.

"That's disgusting…" he said, kicking a broken bottle out of his path. Sarah laughed this time. The first since she arrived in the Underground again. To be able to laugh, she thought, at such a time, was incredible. She savored the moment, hoping that the good mood would last as they made their way ever closer to the castle.

As they reached the end of the landfill, Sarah's smile began to fade. From a distance, it appeared that the doors to the Goblin City were just broken, much like everything else they had encountered along the way. Upon reaching the gates however, the duo was enlightened to a more dismal situation. To the sides of the entrance, the large metal doors sat broken and irreparable. In their place was a barricade taller than the city's walls. Sharpened to a point, felled tree trunks lined the base, serving as an initial warning to those who would try crossing. Atop it sat a cavalcade of unusual items, all sharpened to a lethal point. Scrap metal jutted out dangerously, where at the very top, large boulders threatened to crush intruders the moment one tried to propel themselves up over the wall. Above the boulders were more tree trunks, arranged in an 'x' formation to make it impossible to grab on to. Along the city's wall sat more spikes and jagged metal bits, strings of broken bottles served as a sort of barbed wire. The Goblin City was impenetrable.

Sarah's breath caught in her throat. Instinctively, she reached for Kallan's hand. Finding it, she held on with a firm grip, Kallan giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"What's going on?" She whispered, stepping back to look up at the barricade. Kallan shook his head.

"I wish I knew. Something must be very wrong for the Goblins of all creatures to shut out the world like this." He mused, running his free hand down the length of a wooden spike. Looking down the length of the wall, Kallan noticed that atop either side sat a series of watchtowers, all equipped with munitions and a large bell, likely to warn intruders.

"There's no way in, Sarah. We'll have to find another way" he stated. Sarah sighed, adjusting her hand so her fingers laced with his.

"Lets go then. We've got to find Jareth." She decided, scanning the area for an alternate route.

"I don't know this area well, so I can't help in finding a remote route there…but when The Council and I left Tir Na Nog for his castle, we went through a Clockwork City. They're strange little things. Sort of refuge towns for those without homes. The one we went through wasn't nearly as dangerous as others I've seen. Anyways. The one we went through is directly between Tir Na Nog and Jareth's castle. I can take us to the outside of my city, and we can go from there. it's the only way I can think of, unless you have a better idea." He offered. Sarah shook her head.

"No that's good. I cant say I know of another way to get past the Goblin City anyway. How long will it take to get to Tir Na Nog?" she asked, hoping it would not take too long. Kallan's brow furrowed.

"Well. We won't be going _in_ Tir Na Nog. We cant. Well, you cant, Sarah. You're a human." He explained.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked, not angrily, but a bit taken back.

"Tir Na Nog is a Fae city. No other creature or species can enter it, much less see it. Where I would see massive crystal towers you would see an endless forest." Kallan said, going more in depth with his reasoning this time.

"I can take us right to the border of Tir Na Nog, but no further. If I even tried, you would be lost forever. We'll travel on foot from there for maybe a day. Then we'll be in the Clockwork City. We can figure out the best way to get to Jareth from there, alright?" Kallan suggested. Sarah nodded, a curious look on her face.

"Alright. But how are we getting to the border?" She asked. Kallan smiled and pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Hold on tight"


	5. Chapter 5

V.

**I**t was strange to be so close to home and not be able to walk inside. To smell the familiar scents, to hear the welcoming sounds, to be greeted by people as close to family as any Kallan had ever had. He stared up at the sparkling towers of the castle at Tir Na Nog and felt a pang in his heart. A homesickness that had settled deep within him the moment he realized that his mission would be a lengthy one. He could hear the wind rustling through the trees that protected his beloved city, and the chimes that had been placed inside them to ward off travelers. His every fiber reached out, called for home. He longed to walk into his house and sleep in his own bed. To take up watch once more at the guard post as the suns of Tir Na Nog fell over the horizon, and the innumerable stars began to fall to their places in the indigo night sky as a lazy silver moon slowly slid its way higher and higher, keeping vigil over the sleeping city. Kallan ached for home. He missed it more than anything he could ever imagine. But he knew he was making the right choice in staying with Sarah. Nothing in his contract decreed that he must see her to safety after her return to the Labyrinth, but he knew that he would regret it if he were to leave her on her own. Especially in the state which they had found the Underground upon their return. He agreed that something was definitely amiss, and knew that he would have answers if he traveled with Sarah. Now, however, mere steps from the border to his home, he wondered if he really wanted answers after all. Tir Na Nog, though a part of the Underground, was not considered a proper city by other inhabitants. Since none other than Fae folk could enter, everyone looked at it like a neighboring country than anything else. The residents of Tir Na Nog never interfered in matters pertaining to the rest of the Underground unless they were assigned it, and thus took no interest when things went south. It would be so simple for Kallan to give Sarah a set of directions and send her on her way. To go home and never again have to worry about the affairs of Jareth's Kingdom. He would never again feel the jealous twitch he seemed to get in the pit of his stomach when he thought of Sarah with anyone else. He would forget. Kallan turned away from the city. He would continue. To go back home would be selfish. He knew also that were he to go home, the moment he set foot in Tir Na Nog, he would be riddled with worry about Sarah traveling on her own. Spending as much time with her as he did, and getting as close to her as he had been, Kallan was irrevocably attached to her. He wanted her safe, he wanted her well, and he wanted her happy. Even if her happiness meant letting her go.

**T**aking their first steps away from his home and towards the Clockwork City, Kallan recalled his time Above. He remembered trying everything to not like Sarah, to avoid her at all costs and just keep a close watch over her. His direct orders were simply that. To watch her, and to make sure she was not losing her memories of her time in the Labyrinth. If that meant leaving a few peaches on her doorstep, or playing with her dreams, then that was what he had to do. At the time, the 'gifts' he was told to give her, or the images he was instructed to leave her with made no sense to him. It wasn't until he made the decision that he could watch better from a closer position did he begin to realize what the Labyrinth had done to her. Later, when their relationship became more intimate than he had ever planned, he would often watch her dream, listening as she muttered in her sleep. More than half the time, her dreams were about Jareth. They began the same, with Sarah being wary of him, unsure of his intentions, and they always ended the same, with Sarah succumbing to everything Jareth offered her, and declaring her love for him. Kallan was unsure when he realized that the dreams were more than that, but when it dawned on him that Jareth was visiting Sarah through her subconscious, that everything she was dreaming was real, was the first time he realized he was jealous. He knew from the very beginning that he could not become attached to her, and he had done so in the worst way possible. He had fallen for her, and now he was leading her to the place where he would have to let her go. Sarah never suspected that the dreams were more than just dreams, so in the past, when Kallan had asked her why she felt the way she did about Jareth if all she remembers about him was that he scared her, she could never quite come up with an answer. She was always well equipped with a quick way out of the conversation, but could never bring herself to answer him fully. Now, as he was preparing himself to say his goodbyes, he decided to try at it once more.

**S**arah shuffled forward, kicking up small clouds of dust in her wake. Minutes had passed before Kallan could tear his attention from the massive stretch of forest behind them. She knew he saw something completely different from what she was seeing. Where she saw a stretch of trees and the occasional glint of light off of a wind chime, he saw some large and shining empire. Once they began walking, Sarah had fallen into the habit of looking behind her, in hopes of seeing something she had missed before. Once, and only once, she thought she saw something, a vertical line jutting out from the trees, almost like the side of a building. But in a blink, whatever she had thought shed seen had vanished.

**A**head of her, Kallan slowed his pace, falling back enough to walk side by side with her. Sarah steeled herself. She knew he was preparing to ask her about something, and in their time together, all of his questions were never things she particularly wanted to answer. She turned her eyes to the side of the road, noticing the small flowers that cropped up between the pale dirt road and the unusually green grass that made up a rather large stretch of nothing. In between what was supposed to be Tir Na Nog and the Clockwork City, there was nothing. No trees, no rivers or streams, no out of place rocks. Just the greenest grass Sarah had ever seen, and an unsettling calmness to the air. It was too quiet. No birds chirped and no insects buzzed. A soft wind whispered around them, hardly enough to pay notice to. Sarah assumed it was Faerie magic at work. The eerie silence and the serene setting would throw someone accustomed to the harsher elements of the rest of the Underground off their guard. Sarah relished in it however. The quiet calm of the area reminded her of her home Aboveground; a place she chose specifically for its quaint, quiet atmosphere. Next to her, Kallan cleared his throat, gearing up for conversation.

"Sarah?" He began. Her heart skipped a beat, startled at the sudden noises. She glanced up, catching Kallan's eyes, which were trained on hers.

"You're nervous." He stated. Sarah nodded, a little surprised at how he chose to start the conversation.

"Then why are you doing this? Hm? If you're so nervous…so scared…then why are you going back?" He asked, concern leaking into his words. She scoffed and shook her head.

"I don't really have a choice, do I? I either go to him, and we all get what we want, or what? What else would I do? Hide out in some Goblin City or Clockwork Town or whatever and live out my days in the Underground? Miserable and waiting for the day Jareth finds me anyway?" She asked, stuffing her hands in her pockets. Kallan shrugged.

"Why not? You could live close to Tir Na Nog…I could visit you, keep you safe. At least you'd have a bit more time before…" he said, leaving his words hanging in the air.

"You make it sound like a death sentence." Sarah laughed.

"I'm not _dying_, Kallan. And who said I wanted to have more time? Isn't five years enough time?" she asked softly, a sad tone to her voice.

"I don't understand. You told me…back in the oubliette. You told me you were scared." He stated.

"I am scared." Sarah confirmed, only adding to Kallan's confusion.

"So. Then why are you going? If you're so scared of Jareth, why the hell are you going back to him, all he did was hurt you and confuse you and mess you up on some crazy deep level, but now you're all for running into his arms. I don't get it. If you're scared of him, why go?" Kallan yelled, throwing his hands into the air.

"I never said I'm scared of Jareth. I said I was scared, of the fact that you lied to me, of the fact that I was going to have to return _here_, but I never said I was scared of Jareth." Sarah explained calmly.

"You're not scared of Jareth." He repeated, apparently taking this new information in bits.

Sarah shook her head.

"Nope. Why should I be? I was when I was a kid, but that was because I expected him to be scary. He's really not you know." She mused, smiling at whatever thought had entered her mind. "But you're scared of…the Underground?" He asked, still finding it difficult to process everything.

"Why? You only ever saw parts of Jareth's kingdom. His lands are miniscule. A speck on any map of the Underground." Sarah's stomach knotted. She knew it would come to this.

"Its hard to explain…" she said, hoping once more that he would drop it there. As expected, he didn't. Kallan looked down the stretch of road ahead of them, noticing that the Clockwork City was a black mass on the horizon.

"We've got time." He decided. Sarah sighed heavily, trying to piece her words together.

"Of course we do." she muttered, her eyes falling to the ground again.

"I haven't…completely lost contact with Jareth. I know it sounds weird, but I see him. In my dreams…almost every night. I know, they're just dreams, but for the past few months, they have been so vivid, so real, that sometimes I'm surprised that I wake up." She began, knowing fully how ridiculous she must sound.

"Lately, we've just been talking. Its always in the same place; a large circular room covered in ivy. The walls are made of white stone and there is a small bench just beneath the sun that we sit on. And we talk." She shrugged.

" Most of the time, we just said inconsequential things. Stuff about ourselves, getting to know each other, things like that. We'd talk about his Kingdom, where it ended, what was inside it, his favorite places…he would get a sad look on his face." she reminisced.

"Then the dreams…changed. The atmosphere grew darker. He looked off…like something was wrong. Everything he said from that point on was about how everything had changed. He kept telling me to be careful. The night before he came for me, the room was dark. It was like my dream was a nightmare. Jareth sat on the bench, like usual, but he looked hollow. He only said one word that night; 'Run'. Then I woke up. It was morning…I think you know what happened after that" she finished, her words coming out as barely a whisper.

"I know they're just dreams, and I was on edge that day from the nightmare…but I was scared to come here, I was scared of what I would find when I arrived. When Jareth came for me, something was different about him. He made you disappear, which is normal I guess…but then the room felt heavy and all I remember is blacking out and waking up with you in the oubliette. That's when I knew something was wrong. Because he was supposed to come for me and he just left me here and I don't know what to do." Sarah said, cramming her words into one string, her breath coming out in gasps. She began to cry.

"Kallan, I don't know what's wrong and I don't know where Jareth is or why he left me again. I don't know what I did…" she cried, wiping her eyes on her shirt sleeve.

Kallan's words caught in his throat. He didn't know what he could possibly say. He never expected to hear what he did, and never expected her to cry.

"You're scared to find him." he finally managed to say.

"Because then you'll learn what's wrong, and you think something is _very_ wrong" he concluded. Sarah nodded, unable to speak. Kallan sighed, feeling a weight settle in above his heart.

"You really love him don't you." he said quietly. Sarah looked up at him with bleary eyes.

"Oh Kallan…I'm so sorry…" she said, her words broken and garbled.

"I do though. So much." she confirmed, wiping her eyes again and fishing in her jacket for anything resembling a tissue. Kallan nodded, feeling that weight hanging above his heart crush it completely.

"Don't be." he said. "I knew I could never have you anyway." His words were clipped. Looking away from Sarah, he could see the Clockwork city clearly now. The sun hung just behind it, making the city look like one massive shadow. If he listened, he could hear the sounds of everyday life echoing from behind its gates.

"Come on." He said, taking her hand gently and giving it a squeeze.

"We're almost there."


	6. Chapter 6

VI.

**A **rush of bodies. A swell of movement and sound and life. Creatures tall and small moved past each other in the tide that flowed from the center of the Clockwork City. They pushed past each other, all hurried to and from. They tripped and stumbled and glided and trotted on hooves or claws or feet. They smiled and they frowned. They yelled and they grumbled. They lived. Sarah's whole being tensed at the suddenness of it all. A vast difference from the silence that filled her ears and the soft scents of dirt and grass and sky that captured her previously, she was now met with raucous and odor. At any given moment, must and filth breezed past her, and in the next second, the air was clean and crisp and sweet. Her ears prickled at the new sounds. She squinted at the light that gleamed off of various baubles and bric-a-brac that occupied windows or cluttered the streets.

**B**uildings rose up on either side of them, some tall and thin, others small and wide, they lined the narrow streets that either fanned out into wider stretches of road or petered out into small alleyways where darkness lingered like an unwanted guest. Each was colored with a variation of brown. They were faded with weather and sunlight and leaned and wobbled and creaked. Wooden planks for steps lead up to wooden or metal doors that opened into cozy, cool rooms where babies cried or families giggled and argued and slept and ate. Lanterns made of brass hung above doorways and small glass orbs were tethered above arched windows, catching the light and returning it as bright colors that danced across the cobblestone beneath them. The larger of the paths lead feet and carts into the center of the city where shops lined brown walls and vendors called out to relieve them of their wares. Wooden gutters wove their way down walls and emptied out their contents into a small series of trenches that were dug into the ground. They wound around the city's perimeter and gathered at the farthest point, where the collected waters dumped out into a polluted river that stretched on as far as the eye could see.

**I**n the city's center sat two enormous gleaming towers. They were paneled with brass sidings and inlaid with shining smooth stones. The cobbled bases were surrounded by neatly trimmed greenish-brown grasses and lined with innumerable timepieces stacked high as the towers themselves. Clocks of every kind sat in various states of disarray, their faces broken and cracked, numbers upside down, hands bent and twisted. On they ticked however, keeping quiet time with the massive clocks that sat at the very top of the towers. With golden faces gleaming in the fading sunlight, large onyx hands twitched across 25 hours, their visible gears rigged up to a series of bells to herald the passing of time. A set of steps wove into the back of the left tower, trailing all the way up to the top, where a thick wooden platform jutted out from its base of stone and metal chains. A large black door was laid into the towers wall, a strange dial affixed next to the handle. It had seven different colored panels surrounding a marble knob that currently pointed to a black square.

Sarah stared up at the structures in awe. Her eyes watered from not blinking and her breath seemed to catch in her throat.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Kallan asked, startling Sarah and causing her to turn away from the gleaming towers that so held her attention. Her misty brown eyes focused on his and she squinted, realizing just how dry her eyes were. She blinked a few times and rubbed at each eye before returning her attention to Kallan. She nodded in reply and quickly glanced back at them before looking away.

"Definitely…" she confirmed, sounding a bit dazed. Kallan chuckled and tugged at her arm.

"They have that effect on a lot of newcomers. Come on. You can ogle at them later." He said with mirth, dragging her past the towers and down a darkened street where small horned creatures were scuttling across the road, long sticks in their hands. They dipped the end of the hooked stick in front of their faces and breathed a small stream of fire, igniting the point, before slowly lifting them up and pressing them against dark lanterns. The candle wicks welcomed the flames and gave the alley a soft orange glow. The creatures made their way down the street, stopping at every lantern and setting it alight before turning down the next street and repeating their ministrations.

Kallan stopped the two outside a large white door and turned to knock four times.

"What are we doing, Kallan? I thought we were going to find Jareth?" Sarah asked, studying the splatter of mud across the bottom of the door.

"We are. But its almost dark. Nobody with half a mind wants to be outside after dark in the Underground. Besides, you need some sleep, I know we haven't allowed much time for checking ourselves in the mirror, but trust me when I tell you that you look like hell. I'm sure I do as well. We'll have a much more agreeable time traveling first thing in the morning, with a full day to make sure we have plenty of time to get to the castle and not get stuck outside in the dark." He explained, listening to the small knocks that came from the other side of the door, and replying with three sound raps.

**T**he door swung open to reveal a thick framed woman about Sarah's height, with coal black eyes and fiery red hair that was pinned into a messy bundle at the top of her head. A smattering of freckles were scattered across her cheeks and nose, and her painted lips broke into a toothy smile at the sight of the two standing in the doorway.

"Imelda. Good to see you again." Kallan said kindly, taking the woman's hand in his and bringing it to his lips. The woman's smile grew wider and a small giggle escaped her lips.

"Kallan! You as well. And you've brought a friend this time! Come in, come in, its getting dark out there…" she said, taking a second to look outside before ushering the pair in.

**I**melda led Kallan and Sarah into a brightly lit room where thick red and orange couches sat in an organized state of disarray around the large open area. An oak desk was built into the back wall where another woman sat with her head in her clawed hand as her eyes scanned a page in a very large book. Her blond hair fell around her shoulders in waves and her skin was almost luminescent. She looked up at the three as they entered and smiled politely, reaching for a large quill and scribbling something down into a small ledger.

"Kallan, always a pleasure." She called, her voice like a series of bells.

Kallan nodded in acknowledgement and followed Imelda to one of the plush orange sofas that sat in front of a paneled bay window. She gestured for the two to take a seat as she pulled a chair closer and lowered herself into it, propping her feet on top of a small table. Sarah examined the strange woman. Her eyes fell on Imelda's feet first, taking notice of the strange way she laced her boots, and worked up to the layers of tattered skirts and the slightly stained top she wore. Her neck was adorned with several necklaces and ribbons of varying shape and color, and her ears, which were pointed at the tip, were pierced several times, each set of earrings larger than the next. She had a pleasant face, Sarah thought, disregarding the jagged scar that stretched from her temple to her jaw down the left side of her face. The most startling features, Sarah found, were her eyes, free of any color or whites, they were a flat black that somehow still made it possible to tell in which direction she was looking, and the small auburn horns that poked out from the tangle of red hair a few inches above her hair line. Her voice was soft when she spoke, some would say soothing, and she placed her hands on her knees, settling in for what she had hoped to be a long conversation.

"It's been quite some time since last you were here." Imelda began, directing her statement at Kallan, who nodded in confirmation.

"You had a group of Fae with you last time, correct? You were headed to The Goblin King's territory. How did that go over?" She queried, the tone in her voice suggesting that his meeting with the King would have been less than agreeable.

Kallan shrugged and clasped his hands together.

"We did have a meeting with the King, it wasn't anything remarkable though. He was having some difficulties in attending to everything he must, and requested assistance. I was more than happy to oblige." Kallan chose his words carefully, making sure to keep Jareth's distress away from Imelda, who seemed like the kind of girl who would sell almost anything or anyone for a juicy story. She nodded, tapping her painted nails rhythmically against her knee.

"You can't keep secrets from me, dear. I think you know better than that. Word is you went Aboveground. Did the Goblin King need you to play errand boy? Fetch his new wards for him while he ran the pants off of the poor souls already inside his ridiculous Labyrinth?" She asked, her soft voice turning a bit venomous. Kallan sighed and shook his head.

"You know it's not like that." He defended, leaning back into the couch and crossing his arms. He glanced over at Sarah, suggesting silently that she do the same. She shifted backwards until her back touched that of the sofa, and tucked her legs up under her. Imelda released a sigh and nodded.

"Yeah well, you'd be hard pressed to find a Runner who actually _liked_ his Labyrinth. Or a Ward for that matter." she said, looking down at her hands.

"Nobody is supposed to like it…" Sarah chimed in. "It's a challenge for a reason." she said, instantly regretting saying anything. She herself had hated the Labyrinth at times, but found in retrospect that were she not running on pure adrenaline and fear at the time, she would have had a much easier time completing its trials.

"I suppose you'd know all about running a Labyrinth designed to make a Runner fail?" Imelda snipped.

"What, you King Jareth's personal maze-maker?" she asked, sizing Sarah up with one glance and turning her attentions once more to Kallan.

"So, what brings you here tonight? Rooms all ready, of course, but I can't say we were expecting you." she said. Kallan's lip twitched and he looked at Sarah.

"I'm escorting Sarah here back to His Majesty. They've missed each other." Kallan said icily. Imelda's eyes flicked to Sarah and back to Kallan. She did this for a good few seconds before focusing on Kallan again. Her mouth opened and closed several times, much like a fish gasping for air and her fingers tangled and untangled themselves. At last, she spoke.

"Sarah, you said?" her voice much higher than it was moments prior. "Sarah, as in…_The_ Sarah?" Imelda looked at Sarah, her eyebrows forming into tall arches. Sarah grinned for a second, but cleared her throat and regained her calm demeanor.

"I'm a _The_, now? When did that happen?" She asked, the question open for either to answer.

"Probably somewhere around the time that you became the first human to best the Goblin King in 700 years. I could be wrong though." Kallan snickered, resting his arms on the back of the sofa.

"Was it really 700 years? That seems…odd." She said, taken back by the staggeringly high number. Kallan nodded, all the time watching Imelda, who's face was changing shades with every breath. Eventually it settled on a rather embarrassed pink color, and her shallow breaths began to come out easier.

"They tell stories about you, you know?" Imelda said quietly. "Everyone does. You're the first person we hear about when we get left behind." Her eyes began to water, a few small tears escaping briefly.

"If my mother were half as brave as you were…" she began, her words catching in her throat. Sarah's expression dropped, she felt a lump growing in her throat and her stomach tied in knots. As the woman in front of her began to break down in sobs, Sarah was pressed to find words to soothe her. None came to mind that could remotely begin to make her feel better. Ready to try at anything to comfort her, Sarah began to speak, only to get cut off when Imelda raised her hand to silence her.

"There is nothing you have to say that I want to hear." she began.

"I know. It's not your fault. Its not _his_ either…but it may as well be! He plays with them, you know? He likes seeing them suffer…puts them in ridiculous scenarios…and…and, well its no wonder that everyone that Runs, fails! He could have cut some of them a break…" her voice began to fail her.

"I was only seven…" she whispered.

Imelda stood up suddenly, kicking her chair a few feet back.

"I'm sorry…your rooms all ready, Kallan. I expect you'll be gone by breakfast, so it was a pleasure seeing you again." she sniffed, putting half an effort into a curtsy. She turned then, to Sarah, who sat defeated on the sofa, her head in her hands.

"It was an honor meeting you, Miss Sarah." she said briskly before turning and running away up a set of twisted stairs.

Sarah felt the pressure of Kallan's hand between her shoulder blades. He began to rub her back in small, soothing circles.

"I'm sorry. About that. I should have known something would have come up. I completely forgot that she-"

"That she was taken away from her mother at seven years old?" Sarah finished for him, wiping away left over tears.

"Her mother gave her up, Sarah. It was her mother who walked away. She didn't even try to run the Labyrinth. She sat at the opening for thirteen hours, waiting for her time to run out so she could go home. Jareth just told Imelda that her mother gave a valiant effort so it would seem like she actually fought for her. He cared for her, gave her a quarters in his castle, until he found a family that would take her in. He doesn't just abandon the children that get left behind Sarah, you know that." Kallan spoke softly, hoping he could calm her. Sarah looked up at him, her eyes puffed and red.

"Why are you defending him?" she asked, her voice barely audible. "Isn't that kind of counterproductive to your situation?" her voice was lighter now. She sniffed and wiped her nose and eyes, setting herself straight again.

"I hate to see you cry. And I know how much he means to you." He responded, removing his hand from her back. Sarah nodded, her eyes never leaving his.

"Thank you. I know he doesn't abandon them…its just. It was like she was blaming him for what happened. I realized he has somewhat of a reputation…doesn't he." she said, standing up and stretching a little bit.

"People hear what they want to hear, and they accept it as the truth, even if they're told otherwise. You know the truth. I do, and so do many others. But you can't be liked by everyone, right?" he said, standing up and crossing the room to the same staircase Imelda fled up minutes ago. Sarah nodded and followed him.

"Sounds like you like him, Kallan." Sarah teased, her voice still thick with tears. Kallan smiled and began to ascend the stairs.

"Oh I like him well enough as a king. Even as a person… I just hate that he turned out to be the better man."


	7. Chapter 7

VII.

"_**T**__he Labyrinth?" Sarah thought. "How did I get here? Where's Kallan?" she wondered to herself, turning a sharp corner in the seemingly endless maze. To her left wound a set of stone steps that faded into a thick, black fog where Sarah_ _dared not tread. The right promised a better atmosphere; though it was night, two silver moons illuminated a grassy field, large stone obelisks, forgotten and broken littered the field, casting eerie shadows across the flat spread of land. Sarah entered, making sure not to step inside any of the shadows stretched across the tall grasses until she found an overgrown footpath that wound its way effortlessly around the stones. Feeling uneasy about Kallan's disappearance, she began to call for him, her voice devoured by the oppressing silence. _

_At last, after calling his name in vain, Sarah spotted a figure standing just past the last of the glistening obelisks, its attentions focused on the sleepy city below. Sarah grinned and hastened her step, hoping to close the distance between them sooner. As she approached, she noticed the figure's attire. Obviously male, he wore knee high leather boots accompanied by a pair of snugly fit trousers. Moving up, a thick belt paneled the man's thin waist and was secured tightly around a loosely fitting white cotte. The full sleeves were tied up at the elbow, and a set of leather bracers were wrapped around his wrists, which were further protected by a set of leather riding gloves. Where the collar sat open across his exposed chest, a thin black cloak was affixed around his shoulders, giving the man an ethereal appearance, his presence more like that of an apparition or specter than a living being._

_Sarah's heart skipped, beating an uneven tattoo as she approached. She so longed to reach out and touch the man she saw before her, if only to make sure he was real. Her fingers twitched, but she resisted, choosing instead, to stand next to him atop the hill she had climbed moments before, and focused her eyes on the dim lights below her. The city was surrounded by a high wall, the buildings inside shielded from any outside threat. Small flames flickered in windows while wisps of smoke worked their way out of chimneys. All alone, a single creature advanced along the orange streets and capped each lantern, making sure all were extinguished before he carried himself to a small hovel in the corner of the city as a pink sun slowly rose over the horizon and the silver moons began to descend, signaling for the stars to begin their exit as well. _

_Beside her, the cloaked figures hands worked with a series of crystals. As he swirled the dozen small spheres in one hand, he one by one picked them up and set them adrift to the city. Once he was reduced to his last crystal, he pressed it to his lips and sent it to follow the others on their journey. Now empty, he wrapped his arms around his torso and watched as the orbs, which now appeared to be no more than soap bubbles, found their way to their destination and settled down, telling their secrets to the dreamers below._

"_Sarah?" The man finally spoke, his feral voice caked thick from the night air. Her lungs constricted, and she turned only slightly, to see him from the corner of her eye. From beneath his cloak he produced one more crystal. The man pressed it to his lips and slowly extended his hand to her, offering Sarah the shining object._

"_Be careful." He warned, his visibly black eyes scanning the horizon before disappearing all together. _

_A flash of light. Panic, a dark room. Mismatched eyes that look but don't see. An endless longing. _

* * *

><p><strong>S<strong>arah awoke gasping for air. The thick quilt she had covered herself with hours ago was now twisted and knotted around her, constricting her every movement. Wriggling until she broke free, Sarah rolled onto the cold wooden floor of Imelda's Inn and pushed herself up into a sitting position, where she leaned her head against the frigid bedpost. Her skin felt clammy, her tongue dry and sandpaper-like. She breathed heavily, waiting for her head to stop pounding. In the bed opposite hers, Kallan continued to sleep, unaware of Sarah's distress. As her heartbeat began to slow, and the pounding in her head subsided, Sarah managed to bring herself to her feet. Peering out the small window in the south wall of the room, Sarah was surprised to find it was not yet dawn; the pink-tinted sun just beginning to crest over the horizon.

Unable to shake herself from her dream, Sarah quietly dressed and slid downstairs, shutting the door behind her as quietly as possible on her way out. The early morning air was crisp, damp with a mist that cleansed the Clockwork City of the previous days dust. She stumbled bleary eyed down the poorly lit alley before turning down what she suspected was another street. To her left, a set of thick stone slabs worked their way up to another level of the city, in the fading twilight, there appeared to be nothing but darkness to greet her were she to ascend. To continue forward would lead her to a dead end, where a tall door stood, long since covered with thick vines. Her only option was to turn right, where the cobbled path led to a less intricate dirt one that wound its way through a neatly kept set of gardens where numerous sets of glistening marble monuments marked dedicated spots in the gardens.

The dirt path wove its way through the garden and up a grassy knoll. It travelled over and down the other side, growing wider until it met the main road, which led into a smaller city, whose lights were just going out as its residents rose to meet the day. Behind her, a soft shuffling brought her back from the far reaches her mind had wandered whilst looking down on the stirring city. She turned to find Kallan in a disoriented state, sleep still coating his eyes and his hair a ruffled mess. He quickly closed the gap between them and pulled her in to a tight embrace.

"I woke up and you weren't there. What were you thinking, running off like that?" he asked in a semi panicked tone. Sarah began to explain, but everything she said was lost between his chest and his shoulder, where her head was pressed tightly. Pulling back, she broke free of his arms and began again.

"I had a nightmare. I needed some air, calm down." She said somberly. Kallan's wild expression softened, breaking into a more concerned one.

"A nightmare? Why didn't you wake me up?" He asked, putting a comforting hand on her upper arm. Sarah shook her head and turned back to look out over the hill. The sun now painted the sky with various oranges and pinks, rising behind the two to greet the groggy citizens of the surrounding cities.

Sarah thought about how she could best explain it, but found none. She instead shrugged and began to head back to the Clockwork City.

"It was about him." She answered simply, calling over her shoulder. Kallan nodded and kept a safe distance from her.

"Is he alright?" He asked, wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm against the cool morning air.

"I don't think so." Sarah sighed, dragging her feet as she wound her way a second time through the gardens.

* * *

><p><strong>T<strong>he two, having no luggage to retrieve from the Inn, walked straight past it when they returned to town, and made a direct path for the Town Square, where the enormous clock towers sat waiting. The sun had since risen in the sky, giving the day a teal sort of color. Lazy fat clouds drifted across the sky, and a light breeze brought an eclectic array of scents with it.

Although she had already seen the towers, they just as readily took Sarah's breath away when she laid eyes on them that morning. This time though, instead of passing the towers, Kallan led Sarah up the flight of stairs that were inlaid into one of the towers, leading up to a large black door. Once they reached the top, Kallan placed his hand on the multicolored dial and twisted it thrice to the right, back four times, and once to the right again, much like any combination lock Sarah had seen in her high school years. The door emitted a series of clicks and the chimes above them rang out seven times. From the opposite side of the door, Sarah heard a latch pop, and with a simple twist of the handle, the giant door swung open. Instead of a stone wall, as anyone would suspect, there was a dusty, well-travelled road ahead of them.

Just beyond the road sat the castle beyond the Goblin City. It was darkly silhouetted against the setting sun, and held every promise Sarah had been given in dreams for five long years. Without hesitation, Sarah stepped through the door and set foot on the trail, not the least bit concerned anymore about the magic that allowed her here. Kallan followed and shut the door behind him. Once closed, the door disappeared entirely and left the two with no way back.

"Are you ready for this?" Kallan asked tentatively, hoping Sarah would want to wait a few more days. Sarah nodded and began to move forward, a new determination driving her ahead.

"Positive." She confirmed, nearly running now. Kallan nodded and began to keep pace with her. As they neared the end of the road, Sarah was surprised to see that the large doors that lead in to the castle stood wide open, as if they were inviting the two in.

**A**s Sarah crossed the small bridge that led to the front steps, her vision became clouded and a series of images flooded her vision. A dark room. A tangle of vines. A bench where a shell of a man lay empty, mismatched eyes staring at a starless sky. Sarah gasped for air as the images left her. As soon as she regained her composure, she sprinted up the steps and into the brightly lit foyer of the castle. When her eyes adjusted to the change in light, Sarah spotted a small creature standing at the other end of the room, a look of horror on its face.

"S-Sarah?" It squeaked. Sarah squinted at the creature, whose dark skin was stretched to fit the 'o' shape its mouth was making. Small tufts of white hair poked out of its ears and circled around its hat on its head. The creature wore a menagerie of mismatched clothes and sported baubles of all kinds, ranging from necklaces to rings, to pouches of gems lining its waist. After a moment, Sarah recognized the creature, and a wide grin spread across her face.

"Hoggle!" she cried, running to meet him excitedly. Hoggle shook his head nervously and began to wave his hands in front of him, warning her to turn back.

"Sarah, no! Run!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: I really appreciate all the positive feedback this story has gotten so far! Thank you so much :3 I hope I don't disappoint with the coming chapters. Shits about to go down man. OH YEAH. A little fun fact for you all; Kallan means Warrior in Gaelic. I thought that it was appropriate. I generally don't write OCs, but when I do, I want to make them memorable. I'm glad you all like him so much :D_**


	8. Chapter 8

VIII.

"Sarah, you can't be here!" Hoggle cried anxiously. Sarah disregarded his desperate cries and circled her arms around him tightly. Struggling to pull away from her, Hoggle grumbled and ducked under Sarah's arm, wheeling away from her, eyes wide with terror. The dwarf patted his sides quickly, making sure none of his treasures came loose, and returned his attentions to Sarah.

"You have to go, Sarah! Ohhh, why did you come back? Go! Now!" He pleaded, taking her hand and guiding her to the large metal doors that stood open behind her. Sarah pulled her hand away and stepped backwards, crossing her arms over her chest.  
>"Hoggle, what's going on? I came back! Aren't you happy to see me?"<p>

_I came home, Hoggle…_

"Ohh…Of course I'm happy to see you. But you just can't be here! You'll get in trouble, Sarah. Now come on!" He said, reaching for her hand again. As he led Sarah across the long hall, the two noticed that the doors were beginning to slowly shut. Hoggle's heart began to beat wildly.

"Faster!" He cried, running as fast as his legs would allow. Before they could reach the entrance, however, the doors shut with a tell-tale click confirming that they had locked, and a strange whir began to resonate within the chamber, almost as if some sort of machinery had kicked on.

"Ohhhhh, no! No no no no no! Sarah, come on, this way!" He said urgently, pulling Sarah quickly to the left and down a twisted hallway. Like the first, the door at the end of this hallway was locked and whirring, as were all the others, Hoggle assumed. Defeated, he led Sarah back to the entrance room and slowed to a halt at its center.

"I'm so sorry, Sarah." He whispered, kicking the ground beneath him. Sarah felt as though her heart was caught in her throat. She cleared it a few times and took a moment to catch her breath before attempting to speak. Aside from the omnipresent whirr that filled the entire room, there was silence, it hung thick in the air like an unwanted guest and gave Sarah an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

At last, Sarah spoke; "Hoggle. What's going on? I thought…I thought Jareth wanted me back." She breathed, her throat feeling raw. Hoggle looked up at her, his large eyes wet with what Sarah could only assume to be tears. He blinked them away quickly and frowned.

"Jareth? Jareth's not here. Why would he be here? Good as dead, he is." Hoggle said absentmindedly.

Sarah felt her heart stop. Her eyes widened and a pounding began to echo in her ears. Hoggle looked up at her, realizing what exactly he had said.

"Oh damn. Damn, you didn't know. Of course you didn't know. You haven't been here. Oh damn." He repeated, leading Sarah over to the steps leading to the second level and motioning for her to sit.

"Jareth…he's…but he can't be. He isn't. Hoggle, what happened?" She asked, stumbling over her words.

"He's not dead, Hoggle. Please tell me he isn't dead! He can't be, I just saw….well. Technically I didn't, but I thought. Oh what if they _were_ just dreams? Oh, Hoggle! It isn't fair! He can't be dead!" She cried, leaning her head on his shoulder. Hoggle slid away from her, unsure of how to comfort the crying girl, and attempted to find a starting point.

"He's not…he ain't…oh, how do I even explain it. The King is, well he's kinda…-"

"He's broken, Sarah." A voice cut Hoggle off, ringing loud and sure through the massive chamber.

"He's broken and he has been for almost 100 years now." The voice said. Sarah looked up, trying to pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but she could only find Hoggle, who had since fallen to the floor in deference, his small body wracked with tremors.

A figure began to make its way down the flight of stairs above Sarah, slowly descending until they stood next to her. The figure, who was now obviously male, sat down next to her, a wry grin plastered to his face. The man, who was very tall and very thin, wore an ensemble of mostly black. His leather knee high boots that were more buckles and laces than anything, were layered over a pair of form fitting coal black trousers that were met at the waist by a black leather belt. He wore a white shirt reminiscent of the Victorian era, which was paired with a deep green vest whose left pocket housed a small silver pocket watch. The man wore thick black riding gloves and a pair of black bracers, the intricate detailing matching that on the belt. Above his neckline wound a series of necklaces, some hanging low over his garments and some shorter. The longer of the pieces hosted a series of strange charms and talismans, each very ornate and intricate in their own way. The man had a long neck and a strong, sharp jaw line. Thin lips were stretched over a set of sharp, startlingly white teeth. He had a thin nose and almond-shaped eyes which were a flat black color aside from a crystal blue that rimmed where the pupil would meet the iris. Atop his head sat shocks of long, soft blond hair, each strand appearing to be carefully displaced. Sarah studied the man for a moment before a startling realization settled in.

"You're the man who brought me here." Her voice was barely audible as she looked on the man who looked stunningly like The Goblin King. She realized now that in the frenzy that brought her here, it was no wonder she had confused the two so easily. Not surprising in the least if he had used some Fae magic to alter the way she saw him. The man's smile widened to expose pointed teeth, and he nodded slowly.

"Very good." He purred, silver words flowing off of a silver tipped tongue. The man sat down next to Sarah and took her shaking hands in his.

"I've been waiting for you for quite some time, pet. You can imagine my enthusiasm now that you are here." His words were molten, each one burning as they fell on Sarah's ears. Her throat felt thick, every word she had thought to say stuck, and forming more seemed impossible. Her eyes fell on Hoggle, who was still cowering on the ground, and she sighed empathetically. The man's startling eyes followed hers, watching the dwarf, who waited for permission to be on his way. He sighed and waved his hand at Hoggle.

"On your way, Dwarf. Haven't you got anything better to do than whimper?" He sighed, signaling for Hoggle to stand. The man watched as Hoggle gained footing and began to limp away. The man turned his attentions back to Sarah, his annoyed scowl disappearing into a satisfied grin once more.

"I believe I've failed to introduce myself. That seems hardly unfair considering…" he said, standing up, pulling Sarah with him.

"Con-considering what?" Sarah stumbled, her stomach turning as the man strung their arms together as they ascended the steps.

"Considering I know all about you, and you know virtually nothing about me." He said with a chuckle. The two reached the second floor, whose walls were lined with portraits of past Kings. Sarah noticed that the timeline went backwards, the oldest Kings being the first seen. In its beginnings, The Kingdom was run by a Goblin, but somewhere in time, The Fae had taken responsibility. Sarah wondered what had started it as they proceeded down the hallway to another set of stairs. At the start of the stairs, the most recent portrait had been covered with a thick black bolt of fabric. Sarah could only assume that it was Jareth's picture which had been covered. Her free hand brushed the soft fabric in passing and her heart sank.

Once the two had reached the top, the man opened the door in front of them to a spacious balcony overlooking the Labyrinth. Using his arm, the man led Sarah to stand at the railing, allowing her a crystal clear view of the world below her. The man stood behind her, arms clamped behind his back as he watched Sarah carefully, gauging every shift in her expression.

"Who…um. Who are you, exactly?" She asked softly, her eyes staying focused on the section of the Labyrinth where her and Kallan had entered. She surprised herself at that thought, realizing that she hadn't seen or heard Kallan at all since they had entered the castle. Before she could think any more about it, the man answered her.

"I am King here. My name is Eon. You may use it, if you wish." He said, moving to stand next to her.

"Eon. You aren't the King." She spat, her words venomous. Eon smiled at her harsh words though, and leaned into the railing casually. He looked out over the Labyrinth, his strange eyes scanning every inch before settling on the very same spot Sarah was so occupied with. Pointing to it, he began again.

"There. You and your…companion. That is where you entered the Labyrinth. I watched as you made your way through with ease, marveled actually, at how well you remembered it, being gone as long as you were. I stood in this very spot as the two of you picked your way to the Goblin City, only to be turned away by its new security measures. It was only after your faerie transported the two of you out of my kingdom that I lost track of you. Unlike Jareth, I can't seem to find you whenever I please, to peek in on your dreams, or make a futile call for help." He rambled. At this, Sarah's ears perked, taking in everything he had said.

"So he's alive?" she asked hopefully, hanging on the uncomfortable pause that came with Eon realizing just how much information he had given. He sighed, his carefully placed grin dissipating quickly.

"Alive? Yes, if you can call it that." He replied curtly. A surge of hope swelled through Sarah's body momentarily before Eons words crashed on her again.

_He needs my help_ she remembered.

"He's hurt. What did you do to him?" She asked urgently, turning to face him. Eon was smiling again, this time his smile was cold, harsh, sick.

"Pet, tell me. What you would do, to save the one you love? He is crass, rude, known by many to be unfeeling. Your people write stories of his kind. Child snatchers, kidnappers. He is the bad guy. Yet you love him so. I do not question it, it is obvious. But tell me. How far would you go, heroine, to save your damsels life?" Eons onyx eyes watched her carefully as she formulated an answer.

"And would he, considering all that he is, go as far to save you?" Eon added, watching her expression change once again. At last, Sarah found her words.

"You said…you said Jareth was broken. Had been broken for 100 years? In my world, Aboveground, I've only been gone for five. In those five years, Jareth had visited me every night in my sleep. At first I thought that they were just dreams, something like a post-traumatic stress deal. But after a while, I realized that they were so much more than dreams. At first, I hated him, I had every right to, and I certainly showed it.

She explained, watching as Eon listened with rapt attention.

"But in those five years of dreams every night, Jareth showed me everything about his world. I was introduced to his past, his beginnings, how he became King, and his job of challenging those who gave up their children because being a mother or a sister or a brother or father was in itself to much of a challenge. I listened as he told me of every failed Runner he sent home, of his struggles in finding those lost to Aboveground new homes, so that they would not become goblins. I saw him cry, once and only once, and even then I don't think he knew that I saw. Yes, he is harsh to handle, and there is certainly a lot about him that would seem villainous, but I had five years to get to know him, to learn to love him. He had one hundred to teach me. So to answer your question, I would go anywhere, do anything to save him. And I know he would do the same for me." She concluded, holding his eyes with a ferocity that had not been unleashed in some time. Eon smiled broadly then, apparently satisfied with her answer.

"And what of your Kallan? You love him as well, do you not?" he asked, circling her in a serpentine fashion.

"I do. But he knows that I do not love him as I love Jareth." She said definitely.

"Would you go to great lengths to save him as well?" Eon asked, seeming to bait her on. She eyed him speculatively.

"What have you done with him?" She asked finally, worried now. Eon stared at her, a wicked smile growing wider and wider. With a snap of his finger, the two were transported to another place. Dark and overgrown, they stood inside one of the many twisting hallways of a Labyrinth. But not Jareth's, no . This one was new, it was dark, and foreboding, and wicked.

"Welcome to my Labyrinth. I've fixed it up, added a few new things. I rather like it, actually." He said, looking around with a satisfied expression.

"You have thirteen hours, Sarah Williams, to save the one you love. I am really looking forward to seeing how you manage this one."

* * *

><p><strong>Hi guys! What do you all think so far? We're about half way through at this point. <strong>

**I was really glad to incorporate Hoggle into this story, and we may see him a few more times, but as for Sir Didymus and Ludo, one can only hope, right? Maybe you'll see them, maybe you won't. MUAHAHAHAHAHAH**

***cough***

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please please please review and tell me what you think! I would love to hear from you. I'll try and get chapter nine up soon, but first, I'm going to see Flogging Molly. SO NO MORE WRITING TONIGHT! Expect the next chapter in about a week :)**


	9. Chapter 9

IX

"Thirteen hours? You can't do that! That's not fair!" Sarah hollered, whirling around to face Eon. He smirked and tilted his head slightly to the side, much like a dog when faced with high frequencies.

"You had just as much time to save your brother, Sarah. You did it with grace, ease, and poise. I'm sure you can do it again." He said, turning to leave.

"I only had one person to save then!" She cried angrily. "You can't expect me to-"

"-I don't. I told you, Sarah. Save the one you love. I never gave you the option to save everyone. That's not how this story ends, dear girl. You have thirteen hours to save the one you most love. The other will fall victim to my Labyrinth and all its…intricacies. I do not imagine they will ever make it out. Alive, that is. Hurry up now, you're wasting time." Eon hissed before disappearing completely from the area.

Sarah screamed, her wail echoing down the long hallway. Her face red, eyes stinging with tears, her feet began carrying her down the hall before she realized she was moving. Her heart felt as though it would pound its way right out of her chest and her lungs were tight and wanting air. She ran for countless minutes before she began to slow. The air was thick with night air, and clouds dark and gray hung low in the sky, the harbingers of a fierce storm.

"Stop." She told herself. "Remember, things aren't always what they seem. You really have forgotten…" she said, taking a deep breath.

Turning to her right, she walked with hands outstretched before her in case the wall that was now in front of her was just that. As she took a few steps forward, her fingers brushed against cold brick. A heavy sigh escaped her, a new fear settled in the pit of her stomach. Keeping her hand on the wall, she outstretched her other so her fingertips brushed against the opposite wall. Slowly, she began to walk, hoping at any moment she would find a break in either wall. Minutes passed, stretching out longer and longer, until they turned into an hour. Sarah's arms had long since cramped from constantly being outstretched and her back ached from the tension. At last, when she felt as though turning back and starting over would be more fruitful, she fell onto her side when her right hand lost contact with the rough brick it had been tracing for so long. Sitting up, Sarah looked around, stunned for a moment, still trying to figure out what exactly happened. Coming to her senses, a wide grin stretched across her face, and broke into a smile.

"YES!" She cried, jumping up and down at the discovery of the new hall.

Her energy renewed with the good news, she began down the path, making sure to feel for more openings. The next was discovered sooner than expected, and soon, Sarah was able to see where the walls broke, and an entrance began. The minutes stretched endlessly as Sarah turned countless corners, hoping that one would open up into a room, a puzzle, anything. But time after time she was greeted by another long, narrow hallway.

Frustrated with the entire ordeal, Sarah spun around, ready to turn back and start anew. What she found upon turning, however, was a very tall, very wide door, hanging in mid-air. Thick black Ivy made up its frame, while small rocks formed stepping stones to the charred oak door. A brass handle protruded from its fixture, waiting for someone to turn it. Sarah reached out and took the handle in her hand and gave it a twist, jumping at the loud creaking sound the door gave as it slowly swung open. The place beyond the door was luminescent. An expanse of lush green grass waved in a steady breeze below a crystalline twilight sky. Much like a prism in sunlight, thousands of colors burst across the sky in great waves. A splash of green, a fleck of blue, pink splattered here and there, all painted on a deep blue canvas. Stars embedded themselves in and around the swirling colors. They shot across the sky in swift flashes, or danced slowly to an unheard melody. The grasses seemed to sway to the very same melody that kept the stars in motion. And along with the tune they sang, accompanied by the wind, who's somber notes gave a feeling of utter melancholy. Sarah was enchanted. She stepped through the doorway into the grass, who welcomed her with a soft brush against her calves. All sound, the rushing wind echoing off the narrow Labyrinth walls, the whispers she barely heard, the growl she could not pinpoint and paid no mind to, vanished. The door closed behind her and it vanished too. Silence crashed on Sarah like a tidal wave. She stepped, but no sound came. No crunching of gravel, or swoosh of dust skittering across the ground. The wind which whipped across the plain did so in silence. The grass swayed, but did not swish, like any grass should in a breeze. Silence held dominion over everything, it orchestrated, and conducted, it sang and it played on. It was everywhere and everything. And it was drowning Sarah with every breath she took.

* * *

><p>Kallan's head was throbbing. Sitting up, he began to rub his temples, hoping to staunch some of the pain. Upon opening his eyes he was met with an intricate set of iron gates, a dirt path leading down the twisting corridors of the Labyrinth beyond.<p>

_Shit_ he thought, standing up to walk over to the gates. They were not locked, or chained, or bound. They sat, waiting for someone to push them open and continue on their journey. The someone to push those gates open would not be him, however. He glanced down at his bare hands, scratched from whatever fall he took when he wound up in his current situation. He stood, staring at the gates for quite some time before he felt a strange sensation in the back of his head; a strange prickling feeling, like a limb that had fallen asleep. He looked around, curious as to which part of his surroundings had changed to make him feel so, but there was nothing. A white bench sat faded and broken to his left, half of it devoured by a curtain of shadow. A rounded stone wall stood behind him, its cobbles entirely too shallow to attempt to climb. The wall wrapped around on either side until it was met by the hinges that affixed Kallan's current problem in its place. The ground was firm, and with the chilled night air promising frost by morning, there was no chance of digging his way under. The prickling came again, this time stronger, almost irritating. It buzzed and hummed, causing the throbbing in his temples to increase tenfold. Soon, the buzzing turned to humming, and the humming to whirring, and the whirring to screeching. The screeching brought Kallan to his knees, a cold sweat burst into thick beads on his forehead and his hands grew clammy.

_Kallan._

His eyes flew open. Putting in all his effort, Kallan lifted his head, his eyes scanning the darkness for the voice which called his name. There was no one.

_Kallan._

The voice again, clearer this time, it clipped the silence and left an uncomfortable feeling in the stagnant air. This time, he could recognize it. He knew the voice, and to whom it belonged, but his presence would be inconceivable here. Here there was nothing but shadow and doubt. Here was a prison.

"A prison…" he murmured to himself, standing on weak knees and slowly turning.

"Jareth?" he whispered, turning slowly. There was nothing.

_Yes_

A whisper caught in the wind. Kallan squinted, hoping to see a flash of color, mismatched eyes blinking in the dark, but there was still nothing.

"Where are you? I can't see you." He called, still scanning for any sign of life, a breath, a sigh, a whimper. Anything, but he found none.

_Here!_

It barked, a sound close to his left ear. He spun to face it, his eyes falling on the broken bench. Even more confused, Kallan took a tentative step forward, then another, until he stood directly in front of the bench. From a distance, one would assume it broken, the other half fallen to ruin and heaped behind the shadows that cast off the wall. With a mere few steps closer however, Kallans heart began to pound. There were shadows, yes, but like any shadow, it was transparent and wavered with the towering birch beyond the wall that cast it. The thick mass before him was not a mound of dirt and rubbish and bench. It was a body. Hollow, the vessel sat waiting for something to fill it, to bring it to life. Kallan would have assumed this poor creature was a corpse well beyond saving, had it not been for the small bit of an aura that clung to it with every effort it could muster.

"Your Majesty….what has he done to you?" Kallan asked breathless, falling to his knees in a mixture of deference and shock.

_I did not bring you here to pity me. I need your help_

The voice breathed, a quick spark of energy flaring briefly. Kallan bowed his head in apology.

"I don't understand how I can help though." He declared, his eyes fallen on the withered body before him.

_Your people_ Jareth began _are revered amongst the other Fae for their skills in the art of healing._

He said, making clear it was not a question, but a fact. Kallan nodded in confirmation, but did little more.

"We are, but I am hardly a healer. I can tend minor things, Your Majesty, but this far surpasses anything I could do. The amount of time it would take…." His voice trailed off, still struck by what was transpiring.

_I need you to do what you can! _Jareth demanded, his whisper gaining volume.

"It would be impossible. I can't…Jareth, I have to find Sarah! She's out there, and it's your fault!" He said, standing up quickly.

_I would love to hear your theories on how I could possibly be here AND have rather ignorantly brought her across dimensions, but we are a bit pressed for time here. _

Jareth quipped. Kallan could almost see him , hands pressed against his hips, head cocked slightly to the side.

"You don't want her here." Kallan confirmed.

_Of course not!_

Kallan smirked, beginning to pace across the small bit of space he had.

_Would you?_ He continued. _Nothing is right here anymore. It isn't safe. I got caught, Kallan. Me. That speaks volumes…wouldn't you agree?_

His voice was calm now. Kallan's grin dissipated.

"What can I do? I'm a watch guard…I'm no healer…" He said, returning to the body on the bench.

_Let me use you. You can heal me from the inside, while I take your form and find Sarah._

He proposed.

"That's ridiculous." Kallan scoffed, disregarding the fact that it was the only plausible way to heal him.

_It only need be for a little while. As soon as you've healed enough of me where I can manage for myself, we'll switch back and nobody will ever be the wiser, especially Sarah. _

He explained, laying all cards on the table.

_I need to see her_

Kallan barely caught the last part; it was no more than a breath on the wind, a sigh that would have been overlooked in any other situation. He groaned, realizing that there was hardly another alternative. He inhaled sharply and scowled.

"Fine. I'll see what I can do, but I will make no promises." He said, opening his palms and turning his head skyward.

A great rush swept through the room. A spark ignited and a flash bright as day lit up the entire area. Kallan opened his eyes to find that he was staring up at himself. Jareth's broken form was heavy and wasting away by the second. He closed his eyes again and focused, clearing his mind of everything one by one until thoughts of healing swept through, taking over his entire being. A white light filled his mind, all thoughts losing form, all words falling apart. The evening symphonies of insects chirping and trees rustling disappeared. The last thing Kallan heard was Jareth inhale sharply as he pushed open the door and mutter something that resembled a 'thank you'. And somewhere, sometime, there was a girl screaming.

* * *

><p>Sarah felt as though her head was on fire from the inside. Her ears burned with the sudden deafness she had stepped in to and her body trembled entirely. Her ears burned, her head throbbed, her body ached. She whimpered, but no sound came. She called for help, but nothing. Falling to instinct over intuition, she fell helplessly to her knees, and began to scream.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

X.

Eon smiled smugly as he looked out over his creation. The tumult that raged above his Labyrinth was not his design, but he found it added a more harrowing feel to the situation. He watched as the faerie boy struggled to his feet and began to stumble around blindly. He knew the effects of the spell he had cast on the boy would take some time to wear off, and it was only a matter of minutes before he succumbed once more to its potency. His eyes lingered briefly on the darkened, dreary corner he had dedicated to the fallen King, who's husk sat abandoned in a shadowed corner. If Eon focused, he could see the faintest flicker of ambition where the poor creature refused to succumb to death. It darted around the small chamber, bouncing off of the walls that were laced thoroughly with iron; a trait no different than the rest of his Labyrinth. He turned his attentions now to the girl. She, who broke the former King down to the most primitive of feelings, She, who turned the Underground on its head when she rescued her brother, She who had the courage and the intuition that so many others lacked. He hated her with a ferocity that was unparalleled. She sparked within him an anger, a destructive force that could wipe out populations, a fire that burned brighter the further she fell. His pleasure came from her failure.

He watched on now, atop his high overlook in the castles tallest room as she time and again turned herself around in the simplest part of his Labyrinth. Drowning in her own frustration, every turn she took was a wrong one, every step a miss, every sob leading her to more mistakes. Eon reveled in it as behind him, a sturdy golden clock ticked down the minutes she wasted in futile attempts to save both of the Labyrinths prisoners. At last, after an hour of mind numbing regularity, the girl gathered her wits and began to progress deeper and deeper into the winding paths and false dead ends. He frowned, she had remembered more than he had expected. Sarah pressed on, determined now, unwavering in stride as she confidently drove forward before slowing and stopping altogether. Puzzled, Eon observed as she turned around and began walking the other way before stopping after a few steps. Squinting, he saw a device that was not supposed to crop up in that area, much less at all. He watched with curiosity as the door swung open and she stepped inside and the door swung shut behind her. The door was, in all intents and purposes, a safe house. A shield against the most wicked of creatures that stalked the darker paths. Should a runner be in need of sanctuary, this door would provide shelter until the danger passed. It was something Eon loathed having, but was required to nonetheless, by laws set down for the previous king. Turning away in disappointment, Eon began to descend the winding staircase that brought him to the overlook, his destination now the lowest part of the castle, where he would find troves of documents and books on the history of the Underground, maps, charts, graphs, and his focus of the moment, a detailed list including every Runner that ever was.

Once down into the dungeons, where polished marble walls were replaced with earth and rock, where sconces stood unlit for many a year, Eon snapped his fingers, the torches flaring to life at his beck. He hurried down the narrow corridor to a crudely fashioned wooden door. Wrenching it open, Eon grabbed one of the torches off the wall and entered the pitch black room. He set about lighting the other torches that lay dormant on the damp and musky walls and advanced to the center of the room, where a large oak table sat, clear of any stray books or debris. The only thing atop the table was a ledger as thick as it was wide. Bound in aging, cracked leather, Eon carefully opened to the first of the thousands of cracked, yellowed and torn pages that played host to a list of the names of every Runner, followed by a detailed description of their challenge and its aftermath. His eyes scanned each and every name on the page before turning to the next, then the next, and thereafter. He sat, resting his head lazily on his free hand while the other moved crinkling pages. A dull whirring noise replaced the silence at some point, but Eon disregarded it and stayed where he sat, flipping pages until at last, his eyes fell on the name he was looking for.

_Elissa Anders- 13, sister to Eric-7. Failed._

_Was met with challenges eight, seventeen, and three-hundred and nine before falling victim to a sleeping drought activated when Runner made the conscious choice to turn back and erase the memory of the charge. _

_The charge, named Eric, has been left in my care until the time when I can find a proper family to take him. In the meantime, the East wing has become his living quarters, and he shall study with scholars daily. _

_I have arranged appropriate accommodations, including human rations, clothing, bedding, useless baubles to keep the boys attention, and a small globe of light in case of night terrors. _

_Addendum; when did I become so soft! A GLOBE OF LIGHT TO KEEP AWAY NIGHT TERRORS? Disgusting._

_More to follow, should relocation become available. _

Eon read the cramped handwriting again and again, each time, his eyes locked on one word.

_Failed. _

_Failed._

_Failed._

_Wasn't worth saving. _

* * *

><p><em>Eric paced the floor of the throne room, his ears tuned to listen for any sound out of the ordinary. There was the foreboding ticking of the gold plated clock that counted down what little amount of time his sister had left. There was the sound of tennis shoes scuffling on polished marble. There was persistent clicking of the Goblin King tapping his fingers impatiently on the arm of his throne. And occasionally, there was a frustrated scream that came from the Labyrinth, where Eric's sister fought toward the castle. These though, were becoming rare. <em>

"_When's my sister coming for me? You said…she's s'posed to be here." Eric grumbled sleepily. Jareth glanced over at him, his mismatched eyes bearing no emotion. He sighed and stood up, crossing the floor to a window that overlooked the Labyrinth._

"_Her time is almost up." He responded vaguely. With that, the Goblin King left the room, off to do whatever it is rulers of entire kingdoms did when they weren't holding seven year olds hostage. Eric began pacing again, for what seemed like an eternity before a commotion outside drew his attention to the window. A flock of birds zoomed out from the top of a dense patch of forest not far away from where he stood. They squawked and screeched angrily at whatever disturbed them below, and swooped off to find somewhere more suitable to settle in for the night. Seconds after, in the exact spot that the birds had fled, a bright beam of light rose up and illuminated the burnt orange sky. As quick as the beam arrived, it dissipated, leaving spots in Eric's eyes of which he tried desperately to blink away. As he rubbed at his eyes, Eric was startled when he felt a gloved hand lay on his shoulder. Jumping at the sudden contact, he wheeled around, running face first into the King's chest. Backing up, he found the King's eyes and stared into them. One an icy blue, the other a warm brown, the boy found that there was something behind them now, a piteous inflection that wasn't there before. The room, he noticed, was now silent. The golden clock had stopped ticking. _

"_Where is my sister?" He asked crisply, fearing the worst to come in the King's response. The King looked on, inhaling deeply for what seemed like minutes before he finally spoke. _

"_She isn't coming." He stated without feeling. Eric's eyes darted away, as if it would be easier to take the news if he weren't looking at Jareth. _

"_You. You're lying. You're lying, she is coming. I know she is she said she was and I was watching. I saw her, she's close…." He rambled, his small hands beginning to shake uncontrollably._

"_I am not lying. Your sister is not coming for you boy. She left." Jareth explained briefly, watching as the child's eyes began to fill with tears._

"_B-but…but she's coming back right?" He asked, a few tears escaping down his cheeks. Jareth shook his head somberly. Something like a hiccup and a moan escaped Eric's mouth, and a torrent of tears began to follow. _

"_You're lying to me! Why are you lying!" he cried, running to the window. "Elissa! ELISSA WHERE ARE YOU?" He screamed, his wails startling a small furry creature sleeping in a tree next to the window. Jareth rushed over to the screaming child and pulled him away from the window, carrying him under one arm over to the steps leading up to the throne. He sat him down briskly and kneeled until he was eye level with the sobbing mess of a boy before him. _

"_Hush now!" he began in an irritated voice. "Hush. Your sister is not coming for you, Eric. Her time ran out, and as directed, I went to meet her. I offered her the same choice I offer every Runner when their time runs out. She could come with me and complete one final trial to save you, or she could be sent home, every memory of a boy named Eric Anders that anyone Aboveground possessed. Without hesitation, your sister opted for the second, and was sent home. Your sister is gone, boy. She is not coming for you. She gave up ." He explained harshly, a manner in which he seemed to explain all things, as if it were the only way he knew how. Eric gasped for air in-between choking on sobs. _

"_But…but what about mommy? And daddy? My puppy…I just got her for…for my birthday. What about my toys and my room? And my mom…" he regressed into a whisper, a new set of sobs wracking his small body. He began to rock back and forth, stopping only to wipe an unpleasant mixture of snot and tears from his red face._

"_What did I do wrong?"_

* * *

><p><em>Eric sat, twelve years old, at a small wooden table that stood in a corner of the castle's kitchen. He absentmindedly picked at a splintered part of the table as his eyes scanned over a book of runes. He looked up once, to watch as Jareth, who looked just as young as he did five years ago when Eric had met him, walked into the room and plucked a strange pear-like fruit from a hanging basket by the window. Jareth glanced over at the boy in passing, and grumbled a half-awake greeting before leaving the room again. <em>

_The King had tried, was still trying for all Eric knew, to find a foster family for him after his sister had abandoned him here. But apparently, families in the underground willing to support and raise a human child were few and far between. So as years passed, and hope dwindled, Eric came to the realization that he was to live here, at the castle, until he was old enough to live on his own. He had a suspicion that Jareth knew this as well, going as far as to give an entire wing of the castle over to the boys whims, and setting lessons up for him with a scholar who specialized in the workings of the Aboveground population after Eric had turned down the opportunity to forget everything about his life before he was left here. He would rather remember, Eric had decided, than live a life in blissful ignorance._

* * *

><p><em>On his fifteenth birthday, Eric was woken up in the pre-dawn hours of the morning by an unnaturally awake Goblin King. Without a word, Jareth pressed into Eric's hands the only gift he would ever receive from him. A finely carved bow and a quiver full of arrows. He told Eric to dress and meet him in the foyer as soon as he was ready. They were to go hunting. <em>

_By the time Eric and Jareth had left the castle, the Undergrounds twin suns were just cresting the horizon, small streaks of pink and blue blazed across a dark red sky. They exited from the back of the castle, and made their way down a very steep hill into a vast plain of tall grasses, sprinkled with trees and bushes here and there. Stone foundation separated the tall grasses in places, suggesting that there was once a village here. Aside from the plant life, the plain was populated by various birds and small creatures that resembled fanged balls of fur. The afternoon was spent with Eric managing to shoot absolutely nothing and almost poking his own eye out with an arrow. He swore he heard Jareth chuckle once, but when he turned back to look, all he paid witness to was the King flawlessly taking down a bird in flight, the same stern expression he always wore plastered on his face. Jareth would later say that the entire purpose for the outing was to make sure that the boy wasn't completely ill equipped when he left the castle, but Eric would always see it as the only fatherly gesture he would receive from the King. It would not be the Kings fault however, that those gestures stopped._

* * *

><p><em>At eighteen, Eric had stopped taking lessons that any child Aboveground would take, he thought them extraordinarily pointless as he had not been an Aboveground child in some years. He chose instead, to begin studying magic, in every form it took, including its darker forms. At eighteen, he would disobey Jareth and refuse his meals of human food, choosing instead to sneak down to the kitchen in the dead of night and feast upon all of the foods that he was not allowed to have. Faerie foods, Underground meats swimming in gravy, strangely shaped and colored fruits, the sweetest he had tasted, and hot drinks that both stung and soothed his throat on the way down. <em>

_At eighteen, he would begin his transformation into something different. _

_Eric's eyes fell on the Goblin King, who looked at him with an almost shocked expression. Once a bright blue, his eyes were now almost completely black, the only trace of blue present in a ring around the deep pools of black. _

"_I've become like you." He declared, spreading his arms wide to display himself fully, sharp teeth glistening under lips that were pulled into a smile. Jareth, just as ageless as he was eleven years ago, frowned deeply and shook his head, clearly showing emotion for the first time that Eric had ever seen. _

"_Eric…" he began. _

"_Eon." Eric corrected. "I've changed it. I like it, don't you?" he asked the King, who stared at him with a curious expression. _

"_Eon." He began, the name sitting sourly in his mouth. "You are…You are nothing like me." The King's voice was hollow. Eon stopped smiling. _

"_I am what you made me, father." He explained, the title 'father' seeming appropriate for the conversation. _

"_I am not. Not your father." Jareth barked unhappily, rising from his seat and closing in on the creature that stood before him now, in the place of a young man that should have been present. _

_Eon frowned angrily, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. _

"_I think it's time you left my castle, boy."_

* * *

><p><em>Far beyond the castle walls, on a set of rocky cliffs overlooking a deep green ocean, sat an abandoned and long forgotten lighthouse. From its highest point, Eon could see everything. The black outline of the islands that littered the ocean, far to his left where a stretch of beach was met with foamy waves, to his right, rolling hillsides, and to the back, down the hills and in a desolate looking valley, he could see the Goblin Kings castle from which he had been exiled. With it, he saw the Labyrinth where currently, a young girl with brown hair was searching for her baby brother. Surprised at the Runners presence, he decided to take a closer look. There hadn't been any Runners in decades, after all, so this girl was unique. Closing his eyes, he focused in on the girl, honing every one of his senses on her. Soon, an image began to appear, obtaining more clarity until he could see every move that she made. The girl had a small tube in her hand and with it, was marking the direction in which she had come on the cobbled pathways. Small creatures would turn the arrows, unbeknownst to the girl, and throw her off course. She met up with a dwarf with whom she was apparently already acquainted, and later, rescued a monstrous beast from a trap that had been set up by Labyrinth sentries. She was a confident girl, beating Jareth at every one of his games, and she was smart, cunning, and witty. She stared him in the face and refused to back down, beating him at his own game. He could see that it irked Jareth to absolutely no end, but he could also see something else, something that the girl couldn't. Jareth liked it. He was pleased to have found a worthy adversary. <em>

_Making it farther than any of the Runners before her , and with time to spare, the girl made her way to the castle. She passed the last trial using the same cunning skills she had used throughout the entire maze, and she saved her brother. Eon's blood ran cold. A white rage began to build up inside him as he watched the girl do the very thing his sister had refused to even try so many years ago. The anger blurring his vision, he could only listen as the proud Goblin King confessed how this girl had broken him, and offered her everything if she would only stay. _

_The girl left with her brother, and the King stopped. And Eon formed a plan._

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><p><em>For years, Eon laid in wait, watching as the King tried everything to connect with the girl, whose name, he had discovered, was Sarah. He delved deeper into the dark magic that had all but taken over his existence, and he watched. He waited, he plotted. Eventually, the King had found a way to see her. The King was mad with want, and had neglected his Kingdom for this thing, this girl, that had so consumed him. At last though, he had found what he wanted, and would seclude himself in a quiet part of his Labyrinth, which sat unattended since Runners became all but a fairy tale. He would sit there, for hours upon hours, days at a time, and regress into a dreamlike state, where he would meet with Sarah in her dreams, and there he would stay until the unholy act of waking up tore them apart. In his waking hours, the King, broken and lost, would wander the Labyrinth absentmindedly. It was during these hours that Eon had fortified the chamber in which the King dreamed, and it was there that he trapped him. <em>

"_Payback father, for what you've done to me." He explained when Jareth had wandered back to the chamber that night, only to be shocked and stung by the iron that coursed through the walls. _

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><p>"Payback." Eon muttered, shutting the book angrily. He looked up, his eyes aching from reading the small handwriting in dim lighting. He swiftly stood up and exited the room, extinguishing the torches with a wave of his hand. As he ascended the stairs into the foyer of the castle, he noticed that the persistent sound that was buzzing in the back of his mind downstairs was still present. Only now, it was much louder, and much more defined. It was the girl. And she was screaming.<p>

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><p><strong>AN: Guys. I am really satisfied with this chapter. Like. It may be my favorite. Let me know what you all think! I hope it cleared up a lot of questions anyone had. **

**As always, reviews are welcomed with warm cuddly feelings and cookies.**


	11. Chapter 11

XI

Jareth stumbled forward, unfamiliar feet scraping on the firm dirt below. With eyes too big, he scanned the darkness for any sign of Sarah. He could hear her screaming down every hallway and every street, but he felt with every step he took he was farther away from her. He regained his footing and proceeded, slower so not to trip again. Being in anothers body was something completely new to him, and he was positive that after this experience he would not want to do the same again. It felt as though he were buttoned up inside a suit that was just too big for him, the smallest of spaces between him and where the suit should sit. Jareth also didnt like feeling small, powerless, which was how he felt now wearing skin that was not his own.

He soon came upon a crossroads, the two paths to his sides leading to winding staircases, and the one ahead of him to a tall hedge maze. Jareth closed his eyes and listened, turning slowly he hoped to pinpoint where Sarah's screams were loudest. If he were at full strength, not only would he not need to borrow the faerie boy's body, but he would have Sarah already, and the current problem would be eliminated. He would have taken care of the creature who stole his kingdom and regained his rightful place. For the dark, dank, worthless place that it was, it was his, and nobody was going to take it from him without his consent. And Jareth was a man who could count on one hand the number of times he gave consent. Coming full circle, his ears picked up that the screams were louder towards the hedge maze. He took off at a brisk pace, sliding over loose rocks and kicking up dust.

As he made is way into the maze, he found that the narrow, twisting paths were many. They wound through thick walls of green, and shot off into hundreds of directions, making it look far larger than it was. In actuality, many of the winding offshoots lead to dead ends. This was a trick that Jareth had employed ages ago, and thought it a bit funny that his rival chose to duplicate it. Presuming he was correct in thinking that the layout was a replica of its predecessor as well, he followed the widest path for many long minutes before coming across an overgrown dirt path that he knew would take him to the center of the maze, where the screaming generated.

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><p>Kallan sighed and began the tedious work of healing the broken King. His body was greatly deteriorated, weathered and worn, as if he had been in the very same spot for centuries. Using a bit of his reserves of energy, he lifted the Kings head to examine the damage to his body. Without any muscle or fat, there was nothing to him anymore but skin and bone, it seemed. Around his feet, cracked leather boots were entangled in a crop of ivy that had grown over them. His left hand was held in place by a twisted root, his right played host to a savage scar that ran from his middle finger to his elbow.<p>

_How long have you been here, old man?_ Kallan asked the shell.

He sighed and let the head drop. Becoming perfectly still, he began to take deep, meditative breaths and began to focus his energies, imagining a small ball of light growing brighter and wider as it filled up the body entirely. He toned out the world, the whistling winds above his head and the creaking of the earth settling down for the night. Birds chips became a distant memory and the rustling of trees were forgotten until all he could hear was a scream. Pained and frightened, it soared over every other sound. Though it pained him, this too he tuned out.

Once, and only once, Kallan had managed to save someone. A soldier come home from a reconissance mission had been wounded by an enchanted arrow. He had stumbled half blind through the gates of Tir Na Nog and collapsed at the feet of the coupela in which Kallan was keeping watch. Panicked, and not wanting to see the the poor soul suffer, he thought only of healing his wounds. The world around him spun as he put all his efforts into halting the young soldiers pain. Eventually, he fell over, exhausted and drained of every ounce of energy. He blacked out, and when he eventually came to, it was the soldier who was watching over him and thanking him for what he did. The elders had thought that this was proof enough that, like the majority of his people, he was destined to be a healer. But when faced with the task again, this time something much smaller, he could not so much as create a spark. He hoped now, in desperate a time as this, he could muster up whatever he had conjured that night to save the King.

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><p>Sarah's throat was hoarse, her head pounded and her fingers had begun to bleed where they had dug into the hard ground. Convulsions still wracked her body, but they had become less frequent. Whatever this Silence was, it had quickly seeped its way inside her, taking away from her all control of her body. It tried at first, to send her out of its domain. Whatever was inside her picked her up and flung her about like a rag doll. It tossed her into the door, which held fast and would not open. The force slammed harder, but to no avail. This place was a safehouse for Runners who needed hiding. The Intruder was not in any danger, and had found the door only out of curiosity. The door did not welcome her and did not want her there, and when it realized that she would not leave willingly, it found the only option was to kill her.<p>

Now though, as the Intruder convulsed wildly and began to succumb, a faint Noise was brought to her attention. Her body slowed, fighting back what the Silence had planned, and the convulsions began to subside as the noise grew stronger. The Silence fought back harder, feeling threatened by this new Intruder, and sent the girl into a new spasm, a small flow of blood beginning to trickle from her ears, her eyes, her mouth. A new set of screams mingled with the Noise, and soon another Noise joined the mix, a thick crunching, creaking, cracking sound. Slow at first, it soon picked up and beat to the same time that the first, knocking Noise beat to. The three seemed to harmonize into a screeching symphony that soon overpowered the Silence. The door, which Silence had fought so hard to open had, with one final crack, wrenched open, its brass hinges poping and taking flight into a night filled with sound.

On the opposite side of the door, a large beast stood with the fragment of the door still clutched in its mammoth hand. It groaned and stepped inside, making a beeline for the withered girl, whom it picked up gingerly and carried outside.

"Sarah hurt." It mumbled, kicking the door fragment through the threshold before turning away and bumbling down the loud pathway outside of the doors Silence.

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><p>The screaming had stopped. A loud crack had sliced through the air moments ago, and with it, the screaming had stopped. Jareth had come to a halt to listen, thinking he had been wrong and that the crack had been so loud that it had just cancelled all other noises for a time. But long after the sound had finished ringing through the night, the scream was still missing. Jareth felt a knot form in his stomach momentarily. Something like panic, he assumed. Perhaps a trait that came along with possessing anothers body. But something was off. Sarah screaming had been something sure. Something that led him to her and something that gave him absolute proof that she was still alive. Now, with the hollow wind taking up a tune where there was previously no room for it, he was unsure. This new thing could mean two things. Either that someone had rescued Sarah and put and end to whatever was greiving her, or she was dead. Both prospects were not alluring to Jareth, who felt a certian need to keep her safe, but only if he was the one protecting her. And the idea of her lying lifeless somewhere made this bodys' heart skip a worried beat.<p>

He picked up his pace and swiftly turned the last corner before the seemingly endless stretch of road that would lead him to the mazes core.

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><p>Kallan had broken his focus. His surroundings had shifted slightly. Something had changed which had caused him to take notice to a world that otherwise could have been dead. Opening his eyes, he noticed a faint glow coming from the King. He was doing something after all. But what had changed? The trees were still there, the wind howled like it had been all night, and the earth creaked and groaned in its slumber. But something had changed. Realizing with a start what had changed, Kallan began to panic. There was no sensation of his stomach falling out, or the clammy skin he usually got when he worried, but the panic was there. The screaming. Sarah had stopped screaming. He ached to run for her, to find out who or what had made her stop, because if she had stopped, then something was either very good or very bad. But though he would love to, he could not run to her. She was not his to run to. With a new determination to heal the King best he could and solve this new mystery, he settled back down and found his focus again, the faint healing glow he had produced earlier resuming its calming light, just visible behind closed eyes.<p>

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><p>Sarah opened her eyes slowly. She rubbed them tenderly, her stomach lurching at the crusted blood that flaked off. She felt tired, weak, and strangely warm. With blurred vision and a moment to regain all her senses, she realized she was being cradled by a large, hairy beast. Her heart raced in shock before her vision began to clear and Sarah saw an enormous, fanged, and harmless face that she had not seen in five years.<p>

"Ludo." She whispered, raising a weak hand to touch his cheek. He had been crying.

"Sarah hurt..." he mumbled, his deep voice sounding like a small landslide. She nodded and patted his cheek for reasurrance.

"Sarah hurt." Sarah confirmed, turning her head to survey her surroundings. She noticed that a few feet away, Hoggle sat in shadow, watching Sarah wih worried eyes.

"Hi, Hoggle." she muttered, her words were thick, her mouth felt as though it were stuffed full of cotton.

"Hi, Sarah." He greeted, shuffling forward to see her better. The stripes of blood that streaked down the sides of her face had dried, along with what was left on her eyes and the bit around her mouth. She was pale, giving the moons competition, and her hands seemed to constantly shake.

"Ludo ripped the door off. I don't think I was much help..." he admitted, kicking at the dirt. Sarah smiled and reached for his face.

"Hoggle find Sarah." Ludo said, his glossy black eyes falling on Hoggle appreciatively.

"Yeh well...only cos' you was screamin' so loud. Anyone coulda' found you. I guess." Hoggle admitted bashfully. Sarah sighed.

"Thank you. Both of you." Shaking, Sarah tried to sit up, but found her arms could not yet hold her.

"Now now, Sarah. Don't you be tryin' to get up just yet. You jus' rest for a while, kay?" He offered, turning to walk away.

"I'll be goin' to find you sommin' to eat then. You watch her you big oaf. Don't let her go runnin' off now" He ordered Ludo, who only nodded.

* * *

><p>Eon watched as the girl sat in the arms of a ridiculously large creature, who seemed to be humming something entirely indecipherable. She was badly injured, which came as a surprise since he knew the door she had gone into was nothing more than a roving closet unless one was in danger. Perhaps that was why she returned in such a state. She was not in danger when she found the door, so perhaps the door put her in danger to keep her there. Whatever the reason, he found a small bit of delight in her suffering, and was quite content to just watch her struggle to work her arms and legs again before he noticed that just a few paces away, the faerie that accompanied her to his castle was walking briskly towards her. Almost too conveniently, the boy stopped and took off one of his boots, watching angrily as several large rocks came pouring out of it. In the time it took him to relace that boot and do the same thing to his other, Eon had shifted some of his Labyrinths corridors. Nothing too serious, as that was for some reason forbidden, but enough to stall him for a while yet.<p>

On the other side, the girl at last struggled to her feet and managed to take a few steps before her legs betrayed her and she crashed down, her palms scraping against the ground. She was determined though, and pressed on, walking to the end of the corridor and back before turning and doing it again. Time after time she fell, until eventually her legs were reminded of how to walk, and how to support her in that effort. Unfortunately, the girl walking again was not as amusing as the girl falling repeatedly, and her escort was once again fast approaching.

On the other side of the Labyrinth, the fallen King was doing something strange. An eerie irridescence surrounded him. It pulsated and grew, sending off waves of energy that shook the leaves of the trees that surrounded him. His players had something up their sleeves, and he knew that if he allowed it to continue, they would beat him. Eon turned back to the girl and her faerie. Something had to be done.

* * *

><p>Sarah made one more lap up and down the corridor before catching that Ludo was staring at something in the distance. Turning, she saw that far away at the other end of the corridor a figure was walking towards them swiftly. She smiled, recognizing the familiar way Kallan carried himself, and began to head towards him. Behind her, Ludo growled suspiciously.<p>

"Don't worry," she said, turning to face him. "he's a good friend of mine. You'll like him, I promise." Sarah said, as she turned around and made her way towards the figure. Accepting Sarahs description, Ludo returned to his humming, which Sarah still couldnt figure out if it was just him breathing or actually humming a song. She caught herself smiling as Kallan came into clearer veiw. It looked as though he had been in some sort of fight. His clothes were dirty and torn in places, and he walked with a sort of gait, almost as if he had twisted a knee or an ankle or something.

"I've been looking everywhere for you." He said, closing the distance between them and placing his hand on her cheek affectionately. She frowned and stepped back.

"Kallan...I...I'm sorry. I was looking for you too. I got stuck in some weird room. Got beat up pretty bad, too. But I'm fine now, see?" She said, spinning slowly to showcase that she was obviously alive. Kallan sighed and nodded, crossing his arms across his chest as he appraised whether or not she was truly 'fine'.

"Are you alright?" Sarah asked, noticing that there was something strange about the way he was acting. Kallan looked at her, his eyes flashing something strange before his face melted into a grin.

"Of course." He confirmed, his rigid frame easing some of its tension.

"I was just worried about you, is all." He assured her. Sarah smiled, she had to realize that this place had to be equally difficult for Kallan, who was probably concidered a Runner like her.

She grabbed his hand and turned back to where Ludo sat.

"Come on. I want you to meet a friend of mine. He's going to help us find Jareth." She explained.

Sarah began to pull Kallan along behind her, explaining to him how exactly she came to be friends with Ludo when she felt Kallan lose his grip on her hand. She turned to find him examining the walls, a sick look on his face.

"Are you alright?" She asked curiously. He nodded, but half-heartedly.

"Iron. It's in the walls. I'm not sure how much though..." he said, pulling his glove off and touching it against the cold wall. It was as if he had touched a lightning bolt instead.

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><p>Kallan was once more interrupted from his minstrations, which were working well, to his surprise, when he felt an ice cold pain rush through him. Groaning, he opened the Kings eyes in shock, only to be stricken with another bolt of pain as he was suddenly torn from the body and pulled towards his own.<p>

* * *

><p>Jareth opened his eyes with an exasperated grunt. To his surprise, he was in his own body, and it was no longer a withered shadow of what he used to be.<p>

_The boy did better than I had expected. _He thought. Pressing his hand against his torso, where a throbbing phantom pain irked him. Like lightning, a memory from moments before shook him.

_The boy. _

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><p>Kallan jerked his hand away, a dizzy sensation disoriented him. Upon opening his eyes, he was standing in front of Sarah, who was looking at him with a frazzled expression.<p>

_How did I get here?_ He thought, his eyes falling on the curious red creature that stood behind Sarah with an equally worried expression.

"So? Is there a lot of iron?" Sarah asked, waiting for a response.

_Iron..the shock must have sent us back into our own bodies. _

"Yeah...there is. I just have to be careful." he said, a great wave of relief filling him upon seeing Sarah well.

"Alright. We'll be careful. Kallan, this is Ludo. I met him my first trip here. He's gonna help us." She explained, turning to Ludo.

The beast nodded and turned his head skyward before releasing a great howl. Around them, the rocks shifted and tumbled and turned, moving at Ludos' command. When he was finished, it could have been as if they were standing in a completely different area. Behind Ludo, a thick stone staircase wound its way into darkness.

"That'll lead us to Jareth?" She asked hopefully. Ludo nodded and stood next to the enterance.

"Ludo wait here. Sarah come back with friends." He explained, sitting down with a thud. Sarah nodded and hugged the gentle giant.

"I will. Thank you."

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><p>Walking down the staircase proved to be an obstacle of its own as the two pushed their way through brambles and roots, past doorways that were overgrown with weeds. Upon reaching the other side, the duo was met by another winding hallway, the thick stone walls sparkling in the darkness. As Sarah pressed foward, Kallan stayed behind, a look of trepidation on his face.<p>

"Come on! We've got to be getting closer." She said, moving to the spot where Kallan stood, frozen.

"Is it the iron?" She asked, noticing the pained expression on his face. He only nodded.

"Its worse here." he explained briefly. "You're right though, we must be getting close. Let's hurry." Wincing, he took a step forward, and then another. Another step, another painful wince as he slowly made his way down the hall.

"You know those movies that you like so much? _Superman_?" he began. Sarah nodded.

"If I was Superman, Iron would be my Kryptonite." He explained.

"So its lethal." Sarah surmised. Kallan nodded.

"If there's enough of it." his voice was strained. "Right now, I might as well be human."

Sarah gripped his arm, offering support.

"Let's hurry, then."

As they turned a corner, Kallan fell behind once more to catch his breath. His state had degenerated in minutes, and he was now left gasping for air and struggling with each step.

"There's a lot more here." he groaned, his chest heaving.

"Sarah pulled her eyes off of him to survey their surroundings. Ahead, she could see a light, dim and pulsing, the moons behind a swaying tree. She turned back to him, a spark of hope flaring inside of her.

"Kallan! Kallan, the exit's not far. Only a few more minutes..."she began, running ahead to push aside the trees' brittle branches. When she turned back to him, he had sunk to his knees, clutching his sides in agony. Sarah began to panic.

"Kallan please get up! Look! We're so close! Please..." She pleaded, throwing his arm over his shoulder and helping him to his feet.

"Come on. We're almost there. You'll be better soon. See the light?" She prompted, beginning to walk as Kallan half walked, half dragged along beside her. They drew closer, the illuminated doorway becoming clearer, brighter.

The tree beyond the doorway was now crisp and clear, sharply defined by the light of the Underground's twin moons. A breeze soon caught up with them, warm and promising. It whispered of warmth and sanctuary and safety if they could just make it under the arched doorway. The arches though, would be the worst. Inlaid into the sand colored stones was a series of intricate iron latticework. It wove throughout the doorway beautifully, but as Sarah had come to learn, lethally.

Her heart hammered against her rib-cage anxiously.

"We can do this." She assured, tightening her grip on Kallans' waist and stepping forward.

Before she could take another step, she heard Kallan gasp and release a small whimper before his entire body went limp.

"Kallan?" She asked, her stomach turning as a warm pool began to spread in-between them.

"Kallan?" She whispered, forcing her eyes to look down. When she finally did, her eyes fell on a large iron shaft protruding through Kallans' stomach. Its tipped end dripped crimson.

"Kallan!" She shrieked, falling to the ground, cradling his head in her lap. She began to rock back and forth, focusing on Kallans' face, which had relaxed immensely. His eyes darted every which way, finally settling on Sarahs' face. He managed a small smile and placed a bloodied hand on her cheek, already wet with tears.

"I'm so sorry...oh God...I'm so sorry, Kallan..." She muttered, stroking damp hair off of his forehead.

"What do I do? Kallan...God, what do I do? Please don't go, Kallan...you can't." She whimpered.

"You're my best friend." she cried, her voice thick with tears. Kallan ran his thumb across her cheek, he spoke, but no sound came out. Sarah regressed into a string of sobs, lowering her head to his chest, where his heartbeat was barely audible.

"Sarah..." he whispered, breathing heavily. Sarah looked up, her bleary eyes trying to focus on his.

"All I ever wanted..." he began, running out of breath mid sentence. Instead, he used the last of his strength to push himself. Reaching to press his lips against hers, a spark of pain, the very last, shot through him seconds before he could kiss her, and his arms gave out. He coughed once before a great sigh escaped him and his blue eyes lost focus, falling on the light that would have saved him.

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><p><strong>I'm so sorry you guys. But it had to be done. I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON. But from the beginning, when Kallan demanded I put him in my story I said "FINE. But you're Eponine, you jerk." BUT I'M THE ONE WHO'S THE JERK. I'm sorry bb for killing you. I love you.<strong>

**Also. Sorry this took so long to update, our internet was out. Damn bills.**

**Also Also. If you don't know, Eponine was one of the main characters in Les Miserables. In the musical, she was the daughter of horrible con-artists, and a street urchin who loved this boy Marius, and she was his best friend and confidant and he never even knew she loved him because he ran into some dumb blonde in the market and that was it for him man. LOVE. So in the second act (this takes place during the French Revolution BTW) Marius sent Eponine to deliver a letter to the dumb blonde DURING A BATTLE, and she got shot. In her final song, she tells Marius that the she loves him, and before she gets the chance to kiss him, she dies. And everyone in the audience is reduced to tears. EPONINE IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER AND LES MISERABLES IS MY FAVORITE MUSICAL EVER. EVER. EVER. (I've also read the book TWICE, and that thing is like twice the size of the Bible, but Book-Eponine is not as cool, she's still Marius's friend, but she's more of a toothless whore than a lovable street urchin.) So there's a little lesson for you**

**Also Also Also. In most folklore regarding the Fae, Iron is not their friend. It hurts them. So I decided to make it lethal. NOBODY TOLD ME I COULDN'T**

**SEE YOU GUYS IN CHAPTER TWELVE.**


	12. Chapter 12

XII.

Sarah stared without focus, her eyes constantly flooded with tears. A strange sort of moan leapt out of her throat once and grew louder, soared higher until it filled her entirely and shook the room. Unaware that she had made the sound herself, her head snapped up from where it rested on Kallan's chest and looked around. Nothing. Of course it was nothing, there was nobody here accept her and Kallan. She looked back down at him as a new wave of sobs broke out of her.

"I'm so sorry Kallan…I never meant for any of this to happen…" she whispered, smoothing his hair away from his still face.  
>"I never should have taken that…that imposters hand. Why was I so stupid! I had you and we could have been happy…" she cried, linking her fingers with his.<p>

"You wouldn't have been happy." A deep voice said, resonating in the small chamber. Sarah jolted up, her eyes scanning the room until they fell on a shadow that hadn't been there moments before.

"Who's there?" She said, her voice rough from tears. The shadow blurred into a quick movement that darted towards her. In seconds a face was in front of hers. Thin and pointed, slick black eyes with ice blue rims stared at her through thick lashes. A wicked smile was pulled tight over pointed teeth. He was crouched before her, a thick iron beam supporting him.

"You wouldn't be happy, that's a terrible lie. It's not good to lie to the deceased, you know." He purred, a gloved hand flexing over the iron beam.

"You." Sarah gasped, backing up quickly and standing. Her heart began to pound heavily and a cold, clammy feeling broke out over her.

"Me. Hello there precious. Having fun in my Labyrinth yet?" He asked, standing in a fluid motion. Sarah began to shake her head, trying to find her words.

"Its…It's a piece of cake." She declared before realizing she had spoken the same words in the same scenario five years earlier. Her eyes fell on the iron beam in Eon's hand.

"Hm. Pity…I knew you would say that though. Always the tough one, eh Sarah? Always head strong, defiant to a T. Shame that you're lying like a dog though. If my Labyrinth were a piece of cake, your lover would not be lying dead at your feet." He said icily, watching as Sarah's gaze never left the beam.

"Oh stop gawking, you silly girl. It isn't as if you actually cared for him anyway. Yes. I killed him, mystery solved, move on." Eon sighed, sounding exhausted.

"Why. Why would you…I don't understand. He never did anything to you!" Sarah said, rising to her feet.

"Why did you kill him?" She screamed, her hands balling into fists. Eon shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. He stared down at the body with indifference.

"He bored me." Eon confessed, his voice void of any emotion. His eyes flicked from the body to Sarah, whose face was turning an unhealthy shade of red.

"That's not a reason to kill someone." She whispered, too angered to raise her voice. Eon shrugged and walked over to her, his boots clicking on the slick cobbles below him.

"What else can I say? He bored me. There was no use for him when he followed you around like a lost child, moaning about how you would never love him. Very cruel on your part, Sarah, I think." He said, nudging Kallans arm with his foot.

"Then when I separated you he was still a burden. It took me ages to realize the little switch he and your precious Jareth made" He spat the name out with disgust. "It's a shame the shock from that iron only sent them back to their own bodies. I would have one less nuisance to look after." He sighed, walking past Sarah to the doorway behind her. He ducked and moved the tree branch aside, letting a surge of moonlight flood the corridor.

"Jareth's alive?" Sarah whispered, her head pounding. Eon turned back to her and smiled, his pointed teeth gleaming.

"Yes. I plan on fixing that though. " He confessed. He sat down next to Sarah, patting the ground in front of him, beckoning her to sit with him. Sarah shook her head defiantly, her eyes falling on Kallan.

"Oh goodness…" Eon sighed. He snapped his fingers together quickly, and with a deafening pop, Kallans body was gone. Sarah's eyes grew wide.

"What did you do with him? Where did he go?" She asked frantically, looking everywhere.

"What does it matter? He won't be waking up any time soon. Rest assured dear Sarah, he is somewhere secure, where he can be forgotten in peace. Now, Sit." He said, clicking his fingers together again. Sarah's legs gave out and she sunk to the ground.

"What do you want…" Sarah sighed, her eyes filling with tears again. Eon smiled at her and leaned his head on the wall behind him.

"I just want to talk, Sarah! I've been very curious about you for quite some time…" he said, tapping his fingers on the ground. Sarah eyed him curiously, her eyebrows narrowing.

"These walls are laced with iron…how come you haven't been shocked?" She asked, sniffling. Eon grinned and pressed his head to the wall. He turned, so his cheek touched it, and ran a hand down its smooth, cold surface.

"Fun, isn't it? You thought I was a faerie, like your toys? That is precious. Sarah, once upon a time I was human too." He confessed, scooting closer to her.

"Hard to believe, I have come strides from what I was. But if you'll allow me, I'd like to tell you a story." Eon said, running a finger down Sarah's jaw line. She shrugged him off and turned away.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Sarah spat, shuffling to a more comfortable position.

"Not really." Eon responded. "Now then…how is it your stories always begin? You'll have to help me out, I haven't been like you in quite some time." He requested, watching as Sarah pressed her lips tightly together, uncooperative.

"Now, now. Don't be like that. Speak." He commanded. Sarah pressed her lips tighter, but soon her face contorted painfully, against her will, her mouth opened.

"Once upon a time." She blurted, gasping afterwards. "That wasn't fair." She said, rubbing her jaw as if to soothe it.

"Once upon a time, that's right. Once upon a time, I was in the same position as your dear brother. I was older though. Maybe five…anyway, my dear sister was angry. She didn't want to babysit me, she wanted to go out with her friends. My sister…I can't even remember her name now. No matter. She was a dreamer like you, and like you she had one day come across a strange little red book. No title, no author, but a book about a Goblin King who would whisk away unwanted children by request. All one had to do was say the magic words. But you know this. So my sister, who was very dramatic, decided she would read me this book, and when it got to the part where the boy was taken, she decided that she wished that was me. She went downstairs to get a drink, and when she left, the love of your life took me, and held me ransom." He said, his words venomous.

"He didn't hold you-"

"-I wasn't finished, Sarah. Now be quiet. He gave my sister the option to fight or fly, and she fought. She realized what she had done was wrong, so she fought. But your love is a terrible person and he personally made sure that my sister would fail. He is a sore loser and he needed her to lose. And so she did. She was so close to me, I could hear her screams of anguish, and I saw the light when she went home without me. All because of your Jareth." His words were daggers, slicing through the air angrily, cutting into the silence that fell every time he stopped talking. Sarah watched him, a sad expression on her face, her hollow eyes taking in Eons sullen face.

"She gave up." Sarah said, making it clear it wasn't a question.

"She gave up." He repeated, his dark eyes flicking up to meet hers. For a moment, Sarah thought she spotted something in his expression, pain, or sorrow, but in an instant it was gone, and he was distant again, reserved.

"When she left, Jareth tried everything to stick me with some other family, he didn't want a burden. But nobody wanted me so I had been stuck with him after all. He taught me what he thought I needed to know, he kept me under special circumstances so that I would never turn out like him, everything he did, he did to make sure I would never be anything better than he was. But everything he did only made me strive harder to outdo him. I began to study in secret, I ate the foods he ate, and I changed. Day by day I grew better than him, faster than him, stronger than him. When he had realized it though, it was far too late for him to do anything but send me away. I relished it." Sarah shook her head at his story, amazed at how much his ordeal had shaped his life, at how much her decision could have affected Toby. For a moment, she felt sorry for him.

"Oh do not pity me, it's disgusting. I am better this way. I am not weak, I am not a sniveling child…"

"You were five." Sarah argued pointlessly.

"I am elite. Once my dear _father_ banished me, I watched, and I waited, until I found the perfect time to strike when he was weak. Then he found you. You who were so much like my sister. But you didn't give up, and you didn't back down, and you did everything my sister could never do. And you saved your brother and denied the Goblin King because you knew it was wrong. You left as the only woman my father would ever love, and I hated you so much because you were the savior I had longed for time and again. But then, then you were my hero after all. Because you gave me the chance to take what was rightfully mine. Jareth all but gave up after you left. He was reduced to a depressed wretch who could do no more than wander about his Labyrinth day after day, lost in thoughts of you. Of your hair, of your voice, of your scent. I have you to thank. It is because of you I rule this kingdom." He said, bowing his head in mock gratitude. He smiled at her widely, watching as she stared at him with a mixture of disgust and pity.

"But Jareth raised you. Why would you do this to him? It's your sister you should be angry at. She didn't want to fight for you, Jareth did…"

"Every King's era must end, Sarah." He said simply. Eon stood up and walked towards the doorway, pushing past the tree branch. The sun was beginning to rise on what seemed like an endless night. He turned back to her and smiled.

"Thank you for listening to my story, Sarah. I can see why Jareth likes you. You know, there's still one person to save. You have three hours."

* * *

><p>After years of rotting on a bench, stuck in the same place day after day, Jareth found it very difficult to move his limbs. He had wasted too much time just getting used to movement again. Tripping into a run he took turns and hallways blindly, only going on memory to lead him to Sarah. It took him an hour, but he had at last drawn close enough to catch her scent. As he turned a corner, he found a towering beast guarding the entrance to a sunken part of the Labyrinth. Recognizing the beast as if he were from a dream or a distant memory, he knew the creature was harmless.<p>

"Jareth…" The monster growled before standing up to tower over him a good ten feet. He looked up at the beast cautiously and nodded.

"Uh…thing. Hello. What is it you are guarding, then?" He asked, giving the creature a stern look.

"Sarah go there, look for you." He said, moving out of the way of the gaping hole behind him. A crude set of steps lead downwards into a thick blackness.

"Sarah. She's in there then?" He asked, pointing towards the opening.

"Ludo wait for Sarah." He said, sitting back down with purpose. He crossed his massive arms over his chest and watched as Jareth passed him.

"I'll go get her." Jareth declared, marching into the darkness.

* * *

><p><em><strong>I am so sorry for such a hiatus I took. Writers block is a bitch, and I've recently become unemployed so I've been focusing on getting a job more than this story. So yeah, here's chapter twelve. I think there's only going to be a couple chapters after this one, so we're getting closer to the end, guys! Lemme know what you all think! Reviews and critiques and such are always always welcome.<strong>_


	13. Chapter 13

XIII.

Jareth slid carefully into the dark hallway. He stayed as close to center as possible, not wanting to touch any part of the walls. Just from the smell alone he could tell they were alive with iron. One touch and he would go down, with little hope of getting back up. Had he been in full health, it would have been different, Jareth would have laughed and ran a bare hand along the walls, but being mostly dead for five hundred years had done his body no good.

Once the narrow staircase was far behind him, the only sounds for long, ceaseless minutes were the dripping of water, and the occasional shuffled pebble. The silence was almost deafening, and the never-ending hallway tiresome and wearing him thin. Soon though, a thin light became visible, far away at the end of the tunnel. And more importantly, a new sound was added to the mix. Unfortunately, he knew it all too well and was not happy to hear it. It was Sarah crying. It was tired and weak, but something very obviously unstoppable. Jareth sighed. Of all the ways he could have been reunited with the girl, it had to be with her in incredible agony. He moved forwards, wondering what it was that had so torn her apart, and almost felt a pang of sympathy when his eyes fell on Sarah, huddled against the cold wall, rocking back and forth slowly, and mumbling about how sorry she was, how it wasn't supposed to happen like this. Taking in the area, he could smell the presence of two other bodies, one that had left mere seconds ago. And another who had long since left this life. Studying it further, he sneered, realizing it was none other than the beast who had trapped him who had been in this very room. He watched on as Sarah looked up suddenly, staring in his direction.

"Jareth." She said, though she did not exactly call his name, more than state it. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked back down at the boy.

"I have to save him….there isn't much time left." She mumbled. Sarah sat for a few minutes more, but suddenly rose to her feet quickly.

"I won't let you die too." She swore, turning on her heel and stepping through the iron doorway ahead of him. Waiting a few minutes to follow her, Jareth walked up to the arched doorway and stared at the glistening streams of sliver laced into the sandstone. Inhaling deeply and steeling himself, he took a few steps back and charged through the doorway, groaning in pain as he passed through it. Once outside, Jareth fell to the rough ground and spat out a mouthful of blood. Standing slowly, and on shaky legs, he came face to face with an iron beam pointed at his chest. Frail, thin hands held it in place, her shaking hands deceptive of the stern look on her face. Jareth slowly raised his hands in surrender and stared into the angry face of the woman he had not seen in lifetimes.

"Back on the ground." She demanded, poking him with the bit of iron. He winced and slid to the ground obediently.

"Hands on the back of your head, if you please." She commanded, threatening to zap him again.

"Am I in trouble?" He asked a bit snidely, unable to refrain from sarcasm. Sarah looked down at him and frowned, more tears had formed in her eyes, but she would not let them fall. Instead, wiped them away with her shirt sleeve and cleared her throat.

"Who are you." She demanded, looking his recently wiry frame up and down. Jareth sighed impatiently and looked up at her.

"Who the bloody hell do you think I am? Has it really been so long, pet?" He asked, moving to lower his hands.

"No!" Sarah yelled, moving the pole inches from his face.

"Don't call me that. Don't ever call me that." She said, her voice shaking. Walking to his side, Sarah positioned the iron pole directly by Jareth's temple and repeated herself.

"Who. Are. You" she demanded, her voice clipped and rigid, still shaking.

"Sarah, it really is me. Darling, I warned you this would happen! I told you to run…why didn't you listen?" he asked before answering himself.

"Stupid question, you never listened to anything I said." He finished, his eyes dropping to the ground briefly before snaking their way back up to her face. Sarah shook her head and released a single sob.

"You aren't him. You can't be, Jareth is somewhere else and he's dying. I have to go find him because he's all I have…all I have left." She stammered.

"I hate his stupid guts but he's all I've got and you're wasting my time. Now tell me who you are!" She yelled, regaining her composure and threatening him again. Jareth looked up at her, trying to find the Sarah he had known so long ago, but could not see her.  
>"May I stand? This is terribly uncomfortable and I have been sitting for quite some time." He explained in a dry tone. Sarah sighed and acquiesced, hoping it would speed the process along. She backed up a bit, still holding the pole to his temple, and signaled him to stand.<p>

Slowly, Jareth stood and took his time in brushing the dirt off of his clothing. Once he had finished stalling, he slowly turned to face her, locking eyes with hers. He watched as her eyes flicked over his facial features, his hair, his clothes, and at last, his eyes. She looked at one, then the other, and back again before settling and meeting his gaze. They stood motionless for an eternity before Sarah spoke again, weakly, her voice hoarse. Her bottom lip quivered as she began to form her words.

"W-where did you…where were…what happened?" She asked finally, her eyes never leaving his.

"I was stupid, and I fell in love, which is something I don't recommend anyone do, because it really is awful and ridiculous. I was weak. He took advantage of that." He surmised in an icy tone. Sarah swallowed a lump in her throat, internally flinching at the harshness of the way he spat the words out.

"How long has it been? Since…" she trailed off, her eyes flicking away for a moment before finding their way back to his.

"Five hundred years. May I say, that I can presume that no gentlemen in any of your stories would have ever waited that long for someone, and I really don't know if I like you all that much to have spent all that time doing so." He scoffed, small traces of sarcasm laced in with what was most likely truth. Sarah nodded as she was reminded of the harsh reality before her. That Jareth had been highly romanticized in all of her dreams and memories of him. And that he was harsh, and he was cold, and he was ice.

"You're here." She said after a pregnant pause, dropping the iron pole and reaching out her hand to touch his face.

"Where else would I be? I own this place, after all" he reminded her, smiling in a mocking manner before sighing.

"Oh alright." He conceded, growing weary of the teary eyed face she sported constantly, her eyes roaming over his face, presumably to make sure it was actually him.

"If we must have a romantic reunion moment, we best make it good because it is the only one you will get." He offered, watching as her mouth tweaked at the corners as she tried not to smile. He reached up and laid a gloved hand on her face, genuinely grinning as she reflexively leaned into it. He ran a thumb across her cheekbone and sighed, slowly moving his hand up her face until it rested in her hair.

"It is a very different sensation than touching you in dreams." He muttered. Sarah nodded and stepped in, closing the distance between them. She slid her arms around his waist as he directed her head closer to his, pressing his lips against hers. Sarah's eyes fluttered closed as he kissed her in a tame fashion, holding back so he would not lose himself to his emotions, which was something he would deny ever doing.  
>"Sarah…"he whispered as he broke the kiss. They opened their eyes slowly and stepped back, resuming their previous distance.<p>

"Yeah?" she asked, her head spinning, pounding with a sensory overload.

"Where did you get an iron beam?" he asked, genuinely curious. She looked down at the iron pole she had dropped on the ground and picked it back up, giving it a once over before holding it at her side.

"I grabbed it as I was coming out. I heard footsteps behind me; I thought it was Eon again." She said nonchalantly. "Should I ditch it?" She asked, looking down at it and back up to Jareth. He shook his head and frowned.

"No. We can use it when we kill that bastard." He said affirmatively. "Come on then, Sarah. Time is wasting." He sighed, walking ahead of her towards the castle that lay a few miles ahead of them.

* * *

><p>Gaining distance from the tunnel out of the Labyrinth, the pair crossed an open field, littered with rocks and debris, the foundation of some great building that once stood there. A short mile away, separate from the Labyrinth save for one twisting and walled path, was a circular structure with high borders and a massive tree jutting out from its center. Jareth stopped and pointed at it, waiting for Sarah to glance over.<p>

"That is where you were heading, if you were curious. There is where I was kept prisoner." He said. There was no emotion in his words, no anger, no malice. He simply spoke facts.

"There's a bench inside, wrought iron. It sits under that tree, there. He chained me to it." He stated, a vein in his neck pulsing at the thought. Sarah stared at the glorified cell and sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry, Jareth." She said, turning away from the sight and following him as he began to walk again.

"Don't be. Please, Sarah, do not pity me. I neither need or want it." He said, sounding a little annoyed.

Once they passed the cell, there was nothing but more field and rocks, until they drew upon a dirt road that would lead them to the silhouetted black castle in the distance.

"Jareth?" Sarah called, stumbling along behind him. He hummed in response as he worked his way over some rocks that had fallen across the path.

"Kallan's dead. Eon killed him. And I don't know where he took him. It's not fair, he died trying to protect us both, and I can't even say goodbye to him." She rambled, watching as Jareth turned towards her and listened to her news in sincerity. He nodded and sighed.

"I'm sorry. But you're right. He died doing something heroic. He should be given a hero's funeral. I'll take care of it. But it will have to wait. We've got to take care of this little problem, and then we can fix things. Or we can just let it slide and settle on letting that rat rule my stupid kingdom. I don't care. Whichever choice is more attractive to you, I suppose." He said, shrugging and crossing his arms. Sarah nodded and followed him up and over the rocks.

"Do you promise? A hero's funeral?" She asked, her tone a bit worried. Jareth sighed and nodded.

"You have my word. Now, I do recall that we are no longer giving way to sympathies and romance. Get a move on, time is running out." He said, shooing her ahead of him as they made their way to Jareth's castle.

"Jareth?" she asked again, grinning for a moment when he grew irritated.

"What is it now? What could it possibly be?" he sighed, not stopping to make room for conversation, but continuing on as he spoke, determined not to waste any time.

"Are you sure you can get rid of him? You did raise him, after all…" Sarah said, trying to keep pace with him, but always falling a few steps behind.

"Sarah, let me tell you a small story, just to fill the time in which we could be walking in comfortable silence. I rarely show any amount of emotion, unless it is anger, in which I show it often and with much fervor. Rarer still is when I give into the opposite spectrum of emotion. I have never been known to love anyone, not even my parents. I actually hated them, they were idiots. Now. There are two people I have ever cared for outside the realm of utter loathing. You, first and always. Take note that I will never repeat that. The Second-" he said, directing her attention to the castle " poisoned me, stole my kingdom, and chained me to a bench for five hundred years." He confirmed with conviction, pressing his lips into a thin line and picking up speed.

" So yes, I can dispose of him." Jareth said angrily.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Hey guys! LOOK! Its Jareth! I hope I did him justice...Its kind of hard to get that mans love of snark correct. Anyway, here's chapter 13. Again, I'm sorry for the delay, but I'm getting closer to the end and its proving more and more difficult to write the ending perfectly! Also, I got a job! So that is taking up a small amount of my time. But lets be honest, Tumblr is whats keeping me from writing. It is the WORST form of procrastination. But I love it so. Anyway! Leave a review and let me know what you think!<em>**

**_EDITED 2/29/12 due to continuity errors (read as, I should have erased something I didn't and am only realizing it now.)_**


	14. Chapter 14

XIV.

The castle, in Jareth's opinion, was not half of a shadow of what it used to be. It had fallen to ruin and was left, for the most part, in a state of destitution. Walls were crumbling, many of them replaced with gaping holes. Pictures had been burned and tapestries shredded, many staircases were felled and unusable, making it clear that Eon had a direct path he wanted the two to take. The pair followed the soot-covered, grimy hallway down a narrow flight of stairs until they were affronted with a familiar scene. Several staircases wound in and out of walls at any angle, zipping in and out of stone archways that opened to the same room, giving the place a dizzying effect.

Without stopping to contemplate which path they were meant to take, Jareth made a beeline for the center of the room and stepped off into the gaping hole in front of him. Sarah stopped short and peered over the hole, finding that Jareth stood miles away, a spec at the bottom, staring up at her impatiently.

Jareth began tapping his foot as Sarah sat and carefully lowered herself over the edge, preparing herself for a steep drop. What she found instead, was the floor that had appeared miles from her and could hear Jareth clearing his throat in an annoyed manner.

"Are we quite finished with the theatrics?" He asked her, sounding nothing short of extremely annoyed. Sarah looked back up at the ledge she had stood upon moments before and sighed.

"It was more steep a drop last time." She recalled, thinking back to the miles she seemed to fall from that very ledge the last time she was here. Jareth sighed and turned his back towards her, beginning to walk towards the center of the rock formation they had dropped onto. Sarah watched him go and felt a lump rising in her throat. It was this very spot where she had denied him five years ago. The flood of memories made her stomach lurch and bile rise up in her throat.

"Things change, Sarah! When you were here could be considered ancient history to most of us. Perhaps it's time you move on." Jareth called over his shoulder. He stood facing an amorphous black mass that hovered just beyond the edge of the rock, and folded his arms across his chest, as though he were waiting for something.

Around the mass, the air was a deep purple, spattered with thick grey clouds and hovering chunks of rock which appeared to have been frozen mid fall. Sarah remembered though that here, time stopped. This was the end of the line, the last stop on a Runner's journey through the Labyrinth. Here they would receive their brother, sister, son or daughter, whoever they gave up to the Goblin King hours before. Where they stood used to be a chamber all its own, that one would find once they solved the maze above them. But Sarah broke the rules and jumped through the center and the room around her broke as well. So naturally when the walls crumbled and chipped, the falling debris would have stopped once they reached this room. Sarah pressed her back against the rock wall behind her. The cool, damp feel of it against her neck calmed her stomach and allowed her to clear her mind. Jareth was right; the past was the past, and she needed to let it go. One thing however, still gnawed at her, and kept her thinking.

"Jareth?" She called, stepping away from the wall. He mumbled a response, but kept his focus on the black mass.

"I've been thinking about something you said earlier." She said, walking closer to him. With that, Jareth sighed heavily and ran a hand down the side of his face.

"I told you I shall not repeat it. Don't get your hopes up." He quipped, his tone venomous. Sarah shook her head and walked around to face him.

"Not that, I don't care about that…" she began, warranting Jareth to raise an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean. Of course I care about it. But it wasn't what I was referring to." She explained. Jareth nodded and returned his gaze ahead of him. Sarah cleared her throat and began again.

"What I wanted to know was…I met Hoggle when I first entered the castle, before I found you. Or, you found me, however you want to look at it. But anyway, he said that you had been gone for 100 years." She explained, sounding slightly nervous.

"What exactly is your point?" Jareth asked her tiredly.

"You said you were stuck on that bench for 500." She finished hastily, making her confusion clear. Jareth nodded in response, his lips drawing into a thin line.

"I was. I still don't understand what your point is." He sighed. Sarah frowned at him and crossed her arms.

"Then why would Hoggle lie to me? He surely would have known the difference four hundred years makes!" She said angrily, beginning to pace.

"He's an idiot would be my first response. But perhaps he lessened my sentence in an attempt to not worry you as much." Jareth explained to her, watching her expression change at least five different times before it settled on something that looked like disappointment.

"I've been gone for five _hundred_ years?" she whispered, a surge of shock running through her. Jareth rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yes. Remember what I said about ancient history?" Sarah frowned and muttered something under her breath. Jareth heard the words _too long_ and his hand reflexively reached out for hers, but he quickly pulled it back, not allowing himself room for sentiment. Sarah sat down and sighed. She followed Jareth's example and began to stare at the thick black mass in front of them. Minutes passed in silence before Sarah finally spoke again.

"What are we waiting for?" She asked, sounding bored. Jareth glanced over at her, but looked away just as quickly.

"Well, I assume that eventually, something is going to come out of that black…thing in front of us. It's obvious. I've never put it there, so clearly, Eon set it up for some purpose. Sometimes, Sarah, the obvious solution is the accurate one. We're waiting to see what comes out. "He said dully. Sarah nodded and sighed loudly.

"Do you think we'll be waiting long?" She asked him, tilting her head up to watch his expression change.

"Have you got someplace to be, then? Because by all means, you may leave! Just shimmy right back up that rock wall, back out of the castle, and without any form of magic to assist you, find your own way home." Jareth barked, waving his hand behind him towards where they had come from. Sarah rolled her eyes at him and stood up.

"Calm down. I just think that if he wants us to suffer so badly, maybe he should like to do it in a more hasty fashion is all. It's rude to keep people waiting." She said in a monotonous tone. At her remark, however, Jareth cracked a smile.

"I think you are the only person who would complain about having to wait on their assailant." He laughed, shaking his head lightly.

Before Sarah could defend herself, her thoughts were cut short by a shift in the atmosphere. Suddenly, the very air around them felt weighted and heavy. The sharp edges that defined the area began to blurr and white spots began to flash in Sarah's eyes. She recalled this same sensation when she was first transported here, and by the way Jareth hastily grabbed her hand, she could only assume that they were going somewhere. The black mass in front of them began to grow, its undefined edges creeping over the purple that surrounded it, choking out the light and swallowing every sound.

* * *

><p>When things were at their darkest, and the only way Sarah knew she was attached to something was the warmth of Jareth's hand clutching hers, a light began to grow behind them. It was small at first, but in such shadow, even a pinpoint of light would look like the sun. It began to grow, thin, spindly tendrils crawling over the thick darkness, illuminating a completely different room. Below them, where they previously stood upon cold stone, was now firmly packed dirt. Sparse blades of grass grew in between the cracks, but little more. Around them, high sandstone walls curved until they met at an iron gate that had been broken open on one end. Opposite the broken gate stood a tall oak tree, the only fertile thing in this barren cell. Its trunk reached well past the height of the wall where it burst into deep green leafy branches. The treetop covered most of the room like a roof, protecting it from the Undergrounds two suns and leaving it shady and cool. At the base of the tree there sat another bit of iron, this piece in the form of a bench. It was dilapidated and rusted on one side, the result of years of exposure to the elements. The other side however, was pristine, black and glistening in the rays that snuck through the branches and leaves.<p>

Jareth cleared his throat and tried to relax the sour expression on his face. Sarah however, could not abate the panicked feeling that crept up through the pit of her stomach, the cold clammy feeling that slicked over her skin and the immense sorrow that sank into her heart.

"This was where you were kept." She whispered, as if speaking any louder would disrupt something. Jareth nodded and ran his tongue over the front of his pointed teeth.

"You're very astute, as always." He remarked snidely, his mismatched eyes stuck on the bench before him. Blinking to break his gaze, he turned to Sarah, only to find that hovering behind her was a bubble. Roughly the size of his fist and reflecting every bit of the room that it could, Jareth immediately recognized it as one of his own. He nodded towards it and frowned.

"We have company. " He regarded it icily, a bit angered that yet another of his own devices was being used against him. Sarah spun around just in time to see a gloved hand form around the bubble, and an arm form off of the hand, and slowly, a figure immerged from the air, shrouded in black with platinum blonde hair that fell in disarray around his face. Sharp, pointed teeth glistened behind smiling lips, and black eyes rimmed with ice stared at the two, begging for a challenge.

He began to wave the bubble, which had since become solid and formed one of Jareth's crystals, across his hand in a whimsical display, mimicking Jareth heavily. He licked his lips and began to speak slowly.

"Congratulations on making it this far, I see you've picked the one you wanted to save?" He asked, his words smooth and slick. Sarah's eyebrows furrowed and she sneered at him, not giving him the kindness of a verbal reply.

"I've brought you a gift." He said, continuing to wave the crystal around. "For being such a good sport." He clarified, holding the crystal out in front of him.

"It's a crystal, nothing more. But if you turn it this way, and look into it, it will show you your dreams." He said, repeating the words Jareth had spoken to her when they first met. Eon tossed the crystal into the air, where it hovered, attracting the attentions of both Sarah and Jareth. Inside the crystal was dark, but soon, there was a shift, and from the darkness came a dimly lit room. From the crystal's vantage point, the two could make out a tall wardrobe, a dressing table, and a large four-post bed where something was shifting rhythmically. Sarah felt her cheeks flush at the realization of what she was watching, but try as she might, she could not look away. As the image became clearer, it was easy to determine that they were watching one of Sarah's more intimate dreams. A dream that, as it had turned out, was more real than she had originally suspected. She watched as the figures in the bed writhed, clutching at each other and panting, their movements synched to the others. As slowly as the vision arrived, it faded, the last sound emitting from it being that of a low moan.

"I could be _very _nice. I could keep you two someplace like that. But I'm not known for being nice, especially not for being very nice." Eon sighed, taking the crystal in his hand and turning it a few more times. Once he was satisfied, he looked up and grinned.

"Catch!" he called, throwing the crystal at them. With cat like reflexes, Jareth snapped a hand out, his slender fingers wrapping around the crystal. The instant that his hand touched it however, the world around them twisted and warped. Thick iron bars snaked their way through everything, they jutted out of walls and the ground, surrounding them entirely. The ground beneath them shifted and the sky grew dark. Sandstone walls disappeared and were replaced with grey-barked tree's and low thorn bushes. In moments, the pair stood inside of a cage that had been placed in the center of a very dark forest. Around them, Eon's voice echoed, sounding very pleased with himself.

"I think this should make a nice prison." He laughed, before allowing the world to fall silent. Sarah stood pressed up against Jareth, only thanks to the spiked bits of iron that gave them mere inches to move, and certainly no room to walk, or sit even. A cold wind began to whip around them, and in the distance, thunder began to roll.

"Fantastic…" Sarah breathed, pushing her hair under her collar so as to stop it from whipping in the wind. She looked up at Jareth, whose eyes were flicking every which way as he assessed their surroundings and he formed a plan. Time passed slowly and soon, a frigid sleet accompanied the wind, which had picked up severely. Sarah crossed her arms across her chest in hopes to keep warm and focused on Jareth.

"Any ideas, oh Great Goblin King?" she asked, her voice oozing with sarcasm. He squinted into the distance and sighed, as if coming to a dismal conclusion.

"Sarah? Do you remember when I trapped you and tried to seduce you?" He asked bluntly. She nodded and grinned at the manner in which he brought it up.

"How could I forget?" she asked, beginning to shiver. He smiled at her and nodded.

"How was it you came about escaping my crystal world?" He asked, this time genuinely curious.

"Were you too busy serenading me to notice? I threw a chair at the wall…and everything just kind of shattered, like breaking a mirror." She explained succinctly. Jareth nodded as he listened and sighed.

"I thought as much. Right then…" he began, sliding his arms around Sarah's waist.

"I'm going to need something from you, precious." He sighed, locking eyes with her.

"well, a couple of things, if we're at it." He said, his words silky. Sarah's heart pounded and she nodded quickly.

"What?" She breathed, her shaking uncontrollable now, even though she felt as if she were on fire. Jareth smiled at her and pressed his lips against her forehead.

"First. I'll need this…" he said, tearing off the lower portion of her shirt, starting at the back, where his hands were. "I'll need extra protection if I'm going to be handling iron." He explained, ripping the cloth into two separate pieces and wrapping them around his already gloved hands. He ripped off another long strip from her shirt, tore that in two and wrapped each around an iron bar that was sticking out between Sarah's arm and her now very exposed torso.

"Second." He said, taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together. "And I am sorry for this one." He said, moving his hand to wrap around her wrist.

"I'm going to need something of yours. I need far more energy than I've got to be able to get us out of here." He explained, taking a small dagger out from his boot. Sarah looked at him with a very confused expression before she realized his intentions. He kissed her wrist quickly, and in a flash, sliced the dagger across the tender flesh of her forearm, just above any crucial veins. As though he had struck a main artery instead, blood gushed from the wound and Sarah's arm screamed in pain where as she bit her lip to keep from wailing. As quick as the blade left her arm, Jareth's mouth replaced the vacant area. There he stayed for what seemed like minutes, Sarah with her back pressed against a flat bit of the cage to brace herself from sinking to the ground for the few seconds that he actually drank from her arm. His head whipped up and he quickly licked away any excess blood from this lips. Paled and panting, Sarah ripped another piece of her shirt and quickly wrapped her arm. She looked at him with a pained expression and whacked his arm.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again." She sighed, pressing a shaking hand to her forehead. He nodded and chuckled.

"Not unless you ask nicely." He joked, appearing to have a new life to him, a new energy that was not there moments ago.

Making sure that the fabric scraps were secure around the iron beams and his hands, Jareth gripped the beam strongly and yanked it free from the rest of the cage. With that single beam gone, the rest of the cage simply crumbled around them, as if it was that single piece that held the entire structure together. Jareth raised his eyebrows amusedly at Sarah and picked up another fabric wrapped beam. He stuck his arm out, signaling that he needed Sarah to grab hold of it. Once she had grasped his arm, he lifted the larger of the beams, and much like one would throw a javelin, hurled it into the distance with superhuman force. As he had anticipated, the iron beam crashed into the interior side of the crystal and shattered it. Around them, the ground shook and the trees turned to dust. With the crystal everything else broke too, and in a flash, Sarah and Jareth stood in the spot they had only a few hours ago. Jareth quickly hid the second iron beam behind his back and stood up straight, staring at Eon, who had taken a seat on the bench and was lazily tapping his fingers on his leg. He turned his attention to them, surprised at how very disheveled Sarah appeared, and how completely alive was Jareth. Regarding them as if they were passersby on the street, he stood up and stretched.

"Took you long enough." Eon sighed, swinging his arms back and forth at his side like an anxious teenager.

"Have fun?" He asked, a quirky grin spreading across his face. He crossed his arms as he waited for a response, his head lolling to the side inquisitively. Jareth shrugged and looked at Sarah before nodding.

"Sure. But not near as much fun as we're about to have." He said.

Before Eon could question him, Jareth whipped the iron beam out from behind his back and in a swift, fluid motion, flung it at Eon. In a second, the beam had pierced his shoulder and drove itself into the tree behind him, leaving Eon pinned to the tree several inches above the iron bench. Eon writhed and fought against the tree and the beam, but it was so deeply set into the trees thick trunk that no amount of force would be able to get him free. Blood poured from the wound where the beam had run him through and every other sound the Underground had to offer was cancelled out by Eon's scream. His eyes bulged and beads of sweat burst onto his forehead, while tears stung at his eyes and blurred his vision. But even through them, he could see Jareth as he sauntered over. He placed a wrapped hand against the tree trunk and leaned in until his lips were right next to Eon's ear.

"I think this should make a nice prison." He whispered. In a very ironic manner, Jareth kissed Eon's temple and pushed off from the tree. He turned around and took Sarah's hand in his momentarily. He kissed it briefly before letting it fall.

"How are we feeling?" He asked nonchalantly. She shrugged and stuffed her hands into her pants pockets.

"Exhausted." She decided. Falling in step with him as they walked through the broken gate.

"We'll have to get that gate fixed." He remarked, stepping over a felled bit of it. She nodded in agreement and kicked at a rock in front of her.

"It might be a good idea. Can we maybe get some food first?" She asked, noticing how empty her stomach felt for the first time in days.

"If we must." He agreed. As they walked, Jareth raised a hand and snapped his fingers once, and in that motion, the screaming that had acted as nothing more than a background noise had ceased. Jareth smiled.

"That's better."


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue.

Two identical suns shone high in a bright orange sky laced with thin grey clouds. A light breeze shuffled the tall green hedges and even taller green trees. Birds chirruped and mingled with the common sounds provided by the Labyrinth on any given day. Along a narrow path, a little girl with shimmering blonde hair ran playfully behind a creature covered in bright red fur. The creature turned a corner and dove into a burrow underneath a thicket before the girl could catch it. Dismayed for only a second, the little girls attentions were snatched instead, by a man in a black robe sitting outside of a large black gate. Slowly, the girl approached the man in the black robe. His hood was pulled up over his eyes, and his head was lulled against his chest, giving the appearance that he was fast asleep. Thinking it would be safe to go in if she were at her very quietest, the girl crept past the sleeping man and placed her hands on the gate, which hummed with energy.

"I wouldn't open that gate, Princess."

The girl jumped and whirled around to face the man. He had shrugged his hood to around his shoulders, revealing a kind face with very defined features. His hair was a light blonde that fell in layers around his face, framing a strong but slender jaw line and crystal blue eyes. Thin lips were spread over a humored smile, and he had since removed himself from the bench to stand behind the girl.

"Why not? I can do what I want, my daddy owns this place." She remarked with a bit of sass. The man nodded and kneeled down before her.

"I know he does. Your daddy also hired me to make sure that no one ever opens that gate. Do you know what happens when you open that gate?" He asked, watching as the girls eyes grew wide. She shook her head and popped a thumb into her mouth.

"What happens?" she whispered curiously. The guard smiled.

"I don't know. But there's a story…you know. That goes along with that tree in there." He said, pointing to a very large and very old tree that stood at the far wall of the room beyond the gate. Thick ivy crept up and around its lowest branch, bright pink flowers blossoming from its stems.

The girl sat down and smiled.

"You have to tell me it." She decided, scooting closer to the guard. He nodded and sat down across from her.

"Well. Long before you were born, your mum and dad ran into a bit of trouble. And your mum and a very good friend of hers fought their way through goblin and clockwork cities, hardships unknown, to the castle to save your dad." He began, catching the girls attention immediately.

"My dad is really tough though." She said, not believing that he would need saving. The man nodded.

"He is now. But he wasn't for a very long time, because he had lost contact with your mum. You see, there was a very bad man who had taken advantage of daddy-dearest's weakness and trapped him in that room." He said, pointing again at the room behind her.

"And in the end, they wound up vanquishing him, after all the trials and tests he put them through , and went home to build the great kingdom you live in now." He said happily.

"How did they beat him? And what happened to her friend?" The girl asked curiously.

"Well, it's said that your dad took a big ol' iron beam and pinned him to that tree that's in there. And nobody's allowed in there because he'll try and talk you into pulling the beam from the tree and setting him free again. As for Sarah, that is, your mums friend...He died, he was killed by the man who trapped your dad. But some people say that you can still see his ghost, protecting the people running the Labyrinth." The man explained. The little girls eyes were very wide, and she took in every word the man told her. She looked back towards the tree in wonder and crawled to the gate, where she pressed her face against the constantly vibrating gate and strained to listen for any sign of life. The man stood and walked to stand behind the girl.

"You won't hear him, not while I'm around. But it's said, that if you listen really hard on a clear day, you can hear him screaming." He whispered, adding a bit of drama to his tale. The little girls mouth formed an 'o' shape and she stood quickly to shuffle away from the gate.

"I shouldn't like to hear that. I bet it sounds like the wind when it howls so loudly during a storm." She surmised. The man let out a guffaw and patted her head.

"I bet it does! Now then, little Princess. How about we get you back home?" He offered, taking the girls hand and leading her down the path, past the iron gate.

As they turned the corner, the breeze had caught in the turrets that jutted up from the Labyrinths walls. If anyone should have asked, they would have said it sounded like someone was screaming. The man snapped his fingers once, when they were hidden beneath his robe, and the wind went silent.

_**The End**_

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><p><em><strong>Its finished! Its finally finished! I apologize for such a long wait, but that last chapter was killing me. But I finally sat my butt down and wrote and I must say that I am really satisfied with it. But PLEASE tell me what you think! I'm really glad all of you have stuck with me through this and hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. <strong>_

_**3**_


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